Please send this round the lists a.s.a.p.
Hugo

Hugo Radice,
Life Fellow,
School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
webpage: http://www.polis.leeds.ac.uk/about/staff/radice



Subject: [new-pol-econ] Urgent Invitation to Sign Letter Calling for Judge-led Banking Inquiry


Dear NPEN,



Apologies for any cross-posting. As you will have seen from the week’s news, banking reform is squarely back on the agenda as a result of the SWAPS and LIBOR debacle.



The key public debate is now whether or not a full judicial inquiry will be carried out or simply a watered down parliamentary inquiry into Libor and transparency as Osborne announced yesterday. There is a brief window of opportunity to influence the outcome of this debate; but what’s needed is strong public support backing a full inquiry.



Below you'll find a petition laying out a call for a full banking inquiry, this is being pulled together by ourselves and nef.



To sign yourself up just respond to this email. If you are an organisation it would be great if you could provide us with a copy of your logo (ideally before 4pm today when we will be pushing a website).



The weight of our organisations signing up to this demand could sway the political situation and offer much needed support to those speaking out in favour of a full inquiry.

All the best,

Joe


======



Banking Leveson: A public enquiry into the UK banking system



The only way to regain public and international confidence in the UK banking system is a fully independent judicial inquiry. Nothing less will allay the unease, anger and uncertainty around banking.



Banks clearly cannot carry out an inquiry into their own conduct, but neither can parliament, which presides over the regulatory system, be seen as truly independent.



The banking system must serve the public interest as well as being run on sound commercial lines. Banks that operate in the UK must do so ethically, serving the interests of savers, businesses and the economy as well as shareholders. It has become self-evident that public interest and the private interests of the banking system have parted company and we need a comprehensive view of the problems before we can solve them.



Banks have been recipients of state support on an unprecedented scale. Taxpayers have a right to demand accountability from them.



The terms of reference must be broad, unlike the Vickers Commission or previous Treasury Select Committee enquiries. At a minimum the following themes must be addressed:



1.       We must establish common ground on what the banking system is for, reflecting its special status at the heart of the economic system.

This should include proper examination of the provision of responsible credit and sustainable rates of interest to productive areas of the economy.



2.       We must examine the design of banking and monetary institutions, in particular to identify how the structure of the system creates conflicts of interest and how these conflicts can be driven out. From the endemic mis-selling of financial products to the moral hazard proclaimed by Mervyn King that led to taxpayers picking up the losses from a decade of excess, risk and rewards must be realigned, and incentive structures reformed to reward long-term value creation.



3.       We need to understand how and on what grounds the setting of a key international interest rate came to be supervised by the British Bankers' Association, which represents the interest of banks, rather than by regulatory authorities in the public interest. Restoring transparency and accountability to the creation and pricing of credit is a matter of fundamental importance to the economy as a whole.



We cannot let good banking be driven out by the bad. A public inquiry is as important to the future of the banking industry itself as to the economy and country as a whole.

Joe Cox
Campaigns Organiser
Compass
Southbank House
Black Prince Road
London
SE1 7SJ
T: +44 (0) 207 463 0632
M: +44 (0) 779 688 4487
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