Banking Act 2009 (Restriction of Partial Property Transfers) (Amendment) Order 2009

The issues that are covered by this extremely arcane statutory instrument were among the most vigorously debated and contested when the Banking Bill was going through Parliament. The question of set-off and netting at one point was of huge concern to the banking industry but, during the passage of the Bill and subsequently, the work of the Banking Liaison Panel has largely resolved those differences. As the Minister has said, this instrument takes forward the work that was covered by the earlier instrument in March and deals with many of the outstanding points. To the extent that there is a remaining issue around small companies, I, at least, am reassured by what the Minister said about the ongoing work of the panel in trying to resolve that issue. Although I have some sympathy with the noble Baroness, and naturally share some of her cynicism about the attitude of the Treasury towards openness, the Banking Liaison Panel process has been remarkably effective in dealing with intricate issues which I suspect very few officials—and certainly very few politicians, whether in government or opposition—understood at the start of the process. We therefore support the order and hope that the panel will continue its work to resolve the one outstanding issue that has been raised today.