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Appointment of counsel and establishment of panel on HBOS

Appointment of counsel and establishment of panel on HBOS

30 October 2012

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The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has today announced that it has appointed counsel, David Quest of 3 Verulam Buildings, to act as a specialist adviser to the Commission with a power to examine witnesses.

Commenting on the appointment of counsel, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, Andrew Tyrie MP, said:

“This Commission panel will, for the first time, be using counsel in a public evidence gathering session today to cross-examine witnesses.

“This should help us to get to the bottom of what went wrong and why. By doing so we will be better placed to make recommendations for remedy.”

David Quest will today participate in questioning in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into HBOS (full details below).

Commenting on the creation of the panel on HBOS, the lead member, Lord Turnbull KCB CVO, said:

“This panel was created by the Commission to undertake a case study of a failed bank and to identify what steps need to be taken to avoid a repetition.

“We already have a comprehensive overview of what went wrong at RBS. I have no doubt there are many other lessons to be learnt from the collapse of HBOS.

“We want to find out not just what went wrong and how it was allowed to happen but also what warnings were or were not given and what warnings were ignored.

“The FSA’s investigation into HBOS is yet to start and will not be completed before the Commission reports.

“We will not seek to replicate or second-guess the work of the FSA. We will be looking at the lessons that can be learned with regard to corporate governance, culture and standards in the banking industry.

“As with all the Commission’s panels, we are conducting an initial evidence gathering exercise on behalf of, and for consideration by, the full Commission.”

Details of the panel session are as follows:

Panel:                HBOS
Members:           Lord Turnbull KCB CVO (lead member), Andrew Tyrie MP
Time/date:         11.30, Tuesday 30 October
Location:            Committee Room 6, Palace of Westminster

Witnesses:        

  • Paul Moore, Head of Group Regulatory Risk, HBOS
  • Colin Matthew, CEO International, HBOS, 2005 - 2008 (at 14.00)
  • Jo Dawson, Group Risk Director, 2005 – 2006, Group Executive Director , Insurance & Investment Division, 2006 – 2007 and Chief Executive, Retail Distribution Insurance and Investment, from 2007, HBOS  (at 15.30)