IRRV Alert - week ending 12th March 2021
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Lords examines Financial Services Bill (11 March 2021)
Lords examines Financial Services Bill
11 March 2021
MAR
11
2021
The Financial Services Bill completed its committee stage, the first chance for line by line scrutiny, in the House of Lords on Wednesday 10 March.
Members discussed subjects including caps on the Standard Variable Rate for mortgages, impact assessments on the financial sector and designated artificial intelligence officers for financial service companies.
- Catch up on Parliament TV
- Read the Lords Hansard transcript
- Bills and legislation: Financial Services Bill
- Explore the Lords Library briefing
- What is committee stage?
Committee stage of this bill took place in Grand Committee, away from the chamber. In Grand Committee, any member can take part and decisions on amendments (changes) can be made, but no votes can take place.
Report stage, a chance to closely scrutinise elements of the bill and make changes, is yet to be scheduled.
Committee stage day five: Monday 8 March
Members discussed a range of topics including criminal financial offences, protecting access to cash and the determination of accounting standards by the Bank of England.
Committee stage day four: Wednesday 3 March
Members discussed a range of topics, including climate-related financial risk, review of supervisory bodies and tax reporting for Gibralter-based persons.
Committee stage day three: Monday 1 March
Members discussed a range of topics, including funding of fossil fuel exploration, taxation reporting for Gibralter-based persons and disclosure of climate-related financial risk.
Committee stage day two: Wednesday 24 February
Members considered a range of topics, including parliamentary approval of powers given to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and climate-related financial risk.
Committee stage day one: Monday 22 February
Members discussed a range of topics, including the duty of care of financial services providers, exploitation of consumers and small businesses, and international competitiveness of financial services.
Second reading: Thursday 28 January
Members discussed a range of subjects highlighted by the bill, including market access between the UK and Gibraltar, powers granted to the Financial Conduct Authority and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conserverative), Minister of State in HM Treasury, opened the debate and responded on behalf of the government.
Speakers included a former vice president of Citibank and a member of the Bank of England Enforcement Decision Making Committee.
Lord Hammond of Runnymede (Conservative), former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Baroness Shafik (Crossbench), board member of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, gave their maiden speeches in the House.
Financial Services Bill
This bill aims to:
- ensure the UK's regulatory framework continues to function
effectively following withdrawal from the EU - promote financial stability by implementing the full set of Basel III standards, a new prudential regime for investment firms, and empowering the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to oversee the transition away from the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) benchmark
- promote openness with international markets by simplifying the way overseas investment funds are marketed in the UK
- deliver a ministerial commitment to provide long-term access
between the UK and Gibraltar for financial services firms - introduce measures to maintain the effectiveness of the
financial services’ regulatory framework and sound capital markets.