Coalition needn’t take lessons from Miliband on banking

While Labour knighted Fred the Shred, Vince Cable was calling for an end to casino banking

Commenting on Ed Miliband’s speech on banking, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Stephen Williams said:

“The Liberal Democrats have called for banking reform for more than 10 years. While Labour knighted Fred the Shred, Vince Cable was calling for an end to casino banking.

“The Coalition will have done more for a diverse banking sector in five years than Labour did in 13 years; we need not take any lessons from Ed Miliband on this.

“We are separating high street and casino banking, making it easier for new banks to set up and thoroughly investigating the Libor scandal and need for professional standards in the industry.

“I am glad that Ed Miliband has joined my call for a more ethical and professional banking industry.”

Those found guilty of interest rates manipulation should be fired on the spot

We need to restore confidence in our banking system

Commenting on the Financial Service Authority’s findings that Barclays manipulated Libor rates, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Treasury Committee, Stephen Williams said:

“Barclays has challenged the fundamentals of the British banking system. This is yet another symptom of the broken and poisonous banking system which Labour allowed to flourish.

“A full investigation is needed to establish who knew and sanctioned this manipulation, with those found guilty fired on the spot. We need to restore public and market confidence in our banking system.”

 

Your share of the bank bailout

Today co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury committee Stephen Williams has announced policy proposals to give shares in RBS and Lloyds to the British people.

In his pamphlet “Getting your share of the banks” Stephen Williams argues that the mass distribution of stakes in the banks is the fairest way of giving taxpayers a share of the rewards while ensuring the Treasury returns its investment.

Commenting, Stephen Williams said: “There is danger that when the banks return to the private sector, it is business as usual. There is a general feeling in this country that we need to get something positive in return for the bailout.

“HM Treasury needs to recover the approximately £66 billion it spent bailing out the two banks. There is a general feeling in the country that we need to get something positive in return for the bail out.

“This pamphlet puts forward an idea for giving us all a stake in the banks, for HM Treasury to clear its debt and restore public confidence in the state owned financial institutions.”

Click here to read the pamphlet

If Brown believed in fairness he would stop RBS bonuses

Commenting on reports that RBS is set to pay out over £1bn in bonuses despite expectations of poor performance to be announced tomorrow, Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary, Alistair Carmichael said, “The idea of a bank which is still propped up by taxpayers paying out over a billion in bonuses is offensive. There should be no rewards for failure.

“With people across the country having to tighten their belts, bankers are living on another planet if they think they deserve millions in bonuses.

“RBS is effectively owned by the public. If Gordon Brown really believed in fairness he would intervene to stop these bonuses going ahead.”