Top UK lenders could be dismantled smoothly in crisis, says Bank of England

HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Natwest and Britain’s other top eight banks could be wound down in a crisis without the immediate need for taxpayer cash, the Bank of England said on Tuesday following its second ‘resolvability’ check of the lenders.

 

Being able to “resolve” or shutter an ailing major bank without destabilising the financial system or calling on taxpayers was a core lesson from the global financial crisis of 2007-09, when many lenders had to be rescued with public money.

 

“Our assessment gives further reassurance that if a major UK bank were to fail today it could enter resolution safely: remaining open and continuing to provide vital banking services, with shareholders and investors “not public funds“ first in line to bear the costs of failure,” the BoE said in a statement.

 

In its first test of “resolvability” of eight major banks in June 2022, the BoE concluded there were no lenders that were too big to be allowed to fail, though HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered were found to have some shortcomings in planning.

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