Bank of England call to build defences safeguards UK banks against future financial crisis

British banks including HSBC and Lloyds have almost completed the job of building up their defences against a future financial crisis, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said yesterday as he set out details of new capital requirements.

UK-listed banks breathed a sigh of relief, as none failed the latest BoE ‘stress tests’ on the sector.

Standard Chartered, Lloyds Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays rose 1.4% to 2.7%, helping the European banking index gain more than 1%, as the BoE said major UK lenders did not have to take any emergency action.