George Osborne to centralise financial regulation

The British government unveiled plans yesterday to centralise financial regulation further at the Bank of England and reinforce its own powers to shield taxpayers from having to prop up failing lenders in future.

British finance minister George Osborne published a consultation paper to reform the regulatory system just two years after a shake-up aimed at plugging gaps highlighted by a “light touch” regulatory regime that failed to spot the 2007-09 financial crisis coming.

The government proposed making the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) an integral part of the Bank, ending its status as a subsidiary with its own board.