Risk jobs in London - How can structures be regulated?

The much-discussed UK Commission on Banking has reached its halfway mark and chairman Sir John Vickers recently took the opportunity to discuss the group's work at the London Business School.

In news that may interest those with risk jobs in London, Sir John focussed on the question of whether structural reforms of banks might relate to other restructuring initiatives, in particular those that feature financial services providers' capital model.

He claimed that the failure of markets and financial institutions to manage risk had been "spectacular" and that the fall of property prices seen in the second half of the last decade should not have caused the "havoc" that was witnessed.

"Rather than suffering a 'perfect storm', we had severe weather that exposed a damagingly rickety structure," Sir John suggested.

It was for this reason that the question of how to regulate the capital and corporate structures of banks was being tackled, he explained - with both competition and stability the focus.

As a result, he revealed the commission is considering protecting retail banking through a separate capital base and allowing investment banking the ability to fail "safely", although a final decision has yet to be made.

The commission is expected to make its recommendations to the government by September of this year.

Find the latest Risk Management Jobs in London with Ambition.