Osborne grabs power over Bank of England

The Treasury today published the Financial Services Bill, which when passed will enshrine the new regulatory structure in law.

Unveiling the Bill at Davos, Chancellor George Osborne said it will give him the power to order the Bank of England (BoE) to act in a financial emergency. It will also give the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the power to ban products for 12 months without consultation, as announced by Martin Wheatley, the new head of the FCA, earlier this week. The Chancellor's new power will prevent another crisis such as the Northern Rock fiasco in 2007, Osborne said. During the 2007 crisis, Chancellor Alistair Darling found he did not have the legal authority to order the BoE to bail out...