WOULD LIVING WILLS FOR BANKS BE A GOOD IDEA OR NOT?
NIC CLARKE CHARLES STANLEY
Living wills would not be simple to draw up and might prove to be far more complicated for some banks to implement than others. But a safety valve needs to be imposed which would mean that no institution is ‘too big to fail’, as a bank could be wound up quickly, with the overall risk to the banking system minimised.
SIMON WILLIS NCB
Wills are perhaps politically attractive for a government with an election to win but fraught with problems. They carry the risk of destabilising markets, as Peter Sands said. Imagine the impact of investors turning their attention to how Lloyds, with 30 per cent of the UK mortgage market, would wind down its £349bn loan book.
JUSTIN URQUHART-STEWART SEVEN IM
The concept of being able to unwind yourself sounds wonderful on paper, but it’s like being given instructions on how to untie a knot. It’s far more difficult to untie than to tie and by the time you’ve worked out the will, you’re already dead. It will be far more straightforward for commercial banks than the more complex ones.