The Financial Times revealed Tyrie’s anger today over the early sight of the report gained by both the regulator and the central bank. The preview of its predecessor the FSA’s actions which could be highly critical of the regulator undermines the credibility of the investigation, he said.
The part of the report expected to scrutinise the regulator’s enforcement decisions is being led by independent barrister Andrew Green QC with the full report due out by the end of the year.
In particular, the review will focus on the watchdog’s decision to take action against just one banker, Peter Cummings, who was the former head of HBOS Corporate.
In July, Tyrie (pictured) praised the decision to hand leadership of the review to an independent lawyer. However, a protocol published yesterday showed both the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority will see previews.
In his letter to Andrew Bailey, head of the BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority, Tyrie said: “There remains a risk of a perception that regulators, by having the right to see an early draft of the entire report, are given special treatment or the opportunity to influence its contents.
“Such a perception could prejudice the value of the independent enforcement review.”
The BoE and the FCA last night both dismissed the warning.
In a joint statement, they said: “We have no intention of influencing the findings of the report, and this is clear in the protocol that we have published today.”
HBOS had to be rescued during the financial crisis in 2008 with a government-brokered takeover by Lloyds bank, which later needed a taxpayer bailout of £20bn.
