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The Run on the Rock House of Commons Treasury Committee The run on the Rock Fifth Report of Session 2007–08 Volume II Oral and written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 24 January 2008 HC 56–II [Incorporating HC 999 i–iv, Session 2006-07] Published on 1 February 2008 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £25.50 The Treasury Committee The Treasury Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of HM Treasury, HM Revenue & Customs and associated public bodies. Current membership Rt Hon John McFall MP (Labour, West Dunbartonshire) (Chairman) Nick Ainger MP (Labour, Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire) Mr Graham Brady MP (Conservative, Altrincham and Sale West) Mr Colin Breed MP (Liberal Democrat, South East Cornwall) Jim Cousins MP (Labour, Newcastle upon Tyne Central) Mr Philip Dunne MP (Conservative, Ludlow) Mr Michael Fallon MP (Conservative, Sevenoaks) (Chairman, Sub-Committee) Ms Sally Keeble MP (Labour, Northampton North) Mr Andrew Love MP (Labour, Edmonton) Mr George Mudie MP (Labour, Leeds East) Mr Siôn Simon MP, (Labour, Birmingham, Erdington) John Thurso MP (Liberal Democrat, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) Mr Mark Todd MP (Labour, South Derbyshire) Peter Viggers MP (Conservative, Gosport). Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No. 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/treascom. A list of Reports of the Committee in the current Parliament is at the back of this volume. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Colin Lee (Clerk), Sîan Jones (Second Clerk and Clerk of the Sub-Committee), Adam Wales, Jon Young and Jay Sheth (Committee Specialists), Lis McCracken (Committee Assistant), Caroline McElwee (Secretary), Tes Stranger (Senior Office Clerk) and Laura Humble (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerks of the Treasury Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 5769; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Witnesses Thursday 20 September 2007 Page Mr Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor responsible for Financial Stability, Mr Paul Tucker, Executive Director for Markets, Ms Kate Barker, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee, and Dr Andrew Sentance, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England Ev 1 Tuesday 9 October 2007 Sir Callum McCarthy, Chairman, and Mr Hector Sants, Chief Executive, Financial Services Authority Ev 21 Tuesday 16 October 2007 Dr Matt Ridley, Chairman, Mr Adam Applegarth, Chief Executive, Sir Ian Gibson, Senior Non-Executive Director, and Sir Derek Wanless, Non-Executive Ev 47 Director, Northern Rock Thursday 25 October 2007 Rt Hon Alistair Darling, MP. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Nicholas Macpherson, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Mark Neale, Managing Director, Budget, Tax and Welfare, Mr Richard Hughes, Team Leader, Ev 78 Comprehensive Spending Review, and Mr Clive Maxwell, Director, Financial Services, HM Treasury Tuesday 13 November 2007 Professor Willem Buiter, London School of Economics; and Professor Geoffrey Ev 93 Wood, CASS Business School, City University Mr Paul Taylor, Group Managing Director and Global Head of Sovereign, Public Finance, Corporate and Financial Institution Ratings, and Mr Charles Prescott, Group Managing Director, Financial Institutions, Fitch, Mr Michel Madelain, Executive Vice President, and Mr Frédéric Drevon, Senior Managing Director, Ev 105 Moody’s, and Mr Ian Bell, Managing Director and Head of European Structured Finance, and Mr Barry Hancock, Managing Director and Head of European Corporate and Government Services, Standard and Poor’s 6 The run on the Rock Tuesday 4 December 2007 Mr E Gerald Corrigan, Managing Director and co-Chair of the Firmwide Risk Management Committee, Goldman Sachs, Lord Charles Aldington, Chairman, Deutsche Bank, London Branch, Mr Jeremy Palmer, Chairman and Chief Ev 123 Executive, Europe, Middle East and Africa, UBS, and Mr William Mills, Chairman and Chief Executive of City Markets and Banking, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Citigroup Mr Richard Sexton, UK Head of Assurance, and Mr John Hitchins, UK Banking Ev 135 and Capital Markets Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Mr Chris Hitchin, Chairman, National Association of Pension Funds and Executive Chairman, Railways Pension Trustees Company, Mr Peter Montagnon, Director of Investment Affairs, Association of British Insurers, Mr Guy Sears, Director, Ev 144 Wholesale, Investment Management Association, and Mr David Pitt-Watson, Chairman, Hermes Equity Ownership Service Tuesday 11 December 2007 Sir Callum McCarthy, Chairman, and Mr Hector Sants, Chief Executive, Financial Services Authority, and Ms Loretta Minghella, Chief Executive, Financial Services Ev 153 Compensation Scheme Tuesday 18 December 2007 Ms Angela Knight CBE, Chief Executive, British Bankers' Association, and Mr Ev 169 Adrian Coles, Director General, Building Societies Association Mr Mervyn King, Governor, and Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor responsible Ev 177 for Financial Stability, Bank of England Thursday 10 January 2008 Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr John Kingman, Second Permanent Secretary, and Mr Clive Maxwell, Director, Financial Services, Ev 197 HM Treasury List of written evidence 1 Bank of England, Letter from the Governor Ev 214 Memorandum Ev 214 Follow-up to evidence session on 18 December 2007 Ev 217 2 Tripartite Authorities Ev 217 3 Financial Services Consumer Panel Ev 219 4 Financial Services Authority Ev 220 Follow-up to evidence session 9 October 2007 Ev 223 Follow-up to evidence session 11 December 2007 Ev 223 Letter from the Chairman of the FSA Ev 227 5 Financial Services Authority and Financial Services Compensation Scheme Ev 227 6 Northern Rock, follow-up to evidence session on 16 October 2007 Ev 231 Letter from Chairman of Northern Rock Ev 240 7 HM Treasury, letter from the Chancellor Ev 240 Follow-up to evidence session on 25 October 2007 Ev 242 Letter from the Chancellor Ev 243 8 Julian D. A. Wiseman Ev 244 9 London Investment Banking Association Ev 247 10 Dr Paul Hamalainen, Loughborough University Ev 253 11 The Alternative Investment Management Association Limited Ev 257 12 Fitch Ratings Ev 258 Follow-up to evidence session on 13 November 2007 Ev 264 13 The Association of British Insurers Ev 266 14 Institutional Money Market Funds Association Ev 269 15 Standard & Poor's Ev 272 Follow-up to evidence session on 13 November 2007 Ev 276 16 Moody's Ev 280 Follow-up to evidence session on 13 November 2007 Ev 285 17 Investment Management Association Ev 288 18 British Bankers' Association Ev 294 19 The Building Societies Association Ev 303 20 Council of Mortgage Lenders Ev 308 21 Professor Willem Buiter, London School of Economics and Political Science Ev 310 22 National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Ev 330 23 E Gerald Corrigan, Goldman Sachs International Ev 332 24 David Pitt-Watson, Hermes Equity Ownership Service Ev 335 25 PriceWaterhouseCoopers, follow-up to evidence session on 4 December 2007 Ev 336 8 The run on the Rock List of Reports from the Treasury Committee during the current Parliament Session 2007–08 Report First Report The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review HC 55 Second Report The 2007 Pre-Budget Report HC 54 Third Report The Work of the Committee in 2007 HC 230 Session 2006–07 Report First Report Financial inclusion: the roles of the Government and the FSA, HC 53 and financial capability Second Report The 2006 Pre-Budget Report HC 115 Third Report Work of the Committee in 2005–06 HC 191 Fourth Report Are you covered? Travel insurance and its regulation HC 50 Fifth Report The 2007 Budget HC 389 Sixth Report The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review: prospects and HC 279 processes Seventh Report The Monetary Policy of the Bank of England: re-appointment HC 569 hearing for Ms Kate Barker and Mr Charlie Bean Eighth Report Progress on the efficiency programme in the Chancellor’s HC 483 department Ninth Report Appointment of the Chair of the Statistics Board HC 934 Tenth Report Private equity HC 567 Eleventh Report Unclaimed assets within the financial system HC 533 Twelfth Report The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England: ten HC 299 years on Thirteenth Report Financial inclusion follow-up: saving for all and shorter term HC 504 saving products Fourteenth Report Globalisation: prospects and policy responses HC 90 Session 2005–06 Report First Report The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England: HC 525 appointment hearings Second Report The 2005 Pre-Budget Report HC 739 Third Report The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England: HC 861 appointment hearing for Sir John Gieve Fourth Report The 2006 Budget HC 994 Fifth Report The design of a National Pension Savings Scheme and the role of HC 1074 financial services regulation Sixth Report The administration of tax credits HC 811 Seventh Report European financial services regulation HC 778 Eighth Report Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee: appointment HC 1121 hearing for Professor David Blanchflower Ninth Report Globalisation:
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