Home · Legal Subject Areas · Banking (10 sites)

Bank of England

The Bank of England, established in 1694, is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Content within the “Governance and funding” section (via the About tab) includes key legislation, from the Royal Charter of 1694 and Bank of England Act 1694 onwards. There is a section devoted to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), a part of the Bank of England which was created on 1 April 2013 as one of the two new regulators replacing the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Other site content includes statistics, press releases, bulletins, and summaries of inflation reports.

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) is a committee of banking supervisory authorities which provides a forum for regular cooperation on banking supervisory matters. Its 45 members comprise central banks and bank supervisors from 28 jurisdictions. The site contains press releases, speeches, working papers and newsletters. Under the “Central bank hub” tab there is a set of links to the web sites of central banks worldwide. Articles from the quarterly International Journal of Central Banking are available in full text under “Central bank hub” 2005 onwards.

British Bankers’ Association

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) was a trade association for the banking and financial services sector in the UK. On 1 July 2017 it was integrated into a new trade association, UK Finance. Material published by the BBA prior to 1 July 2017 is still available here on the BBA’s site.

Financial Conduct Authority

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates the financial services industry in the UK. It was established on 1 April 2013 as one of the successors to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and has since 1 April 2015 had concurrent competition powers in relation to financial services alongside the Competition and Markets Authority. The Financial Services Register, a register of all the firms, individuals and other bodies regulated by the FSA, is accessible online. The FCA Handbook of rules and related guidance are accessible via a link to the separate FCA Handbook site.

Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service, created by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000, settles disputes between businesses providing financial services and their customers. Its site includes details of the complaint process, annual reviews 1999/2000 onwards, a link to the FSMA 2000, and a link to the dispute resolution section of the Financial Conduct Authority Handbook (on the FCA site), under which it operates. There is a regular online newsletter Ombudsman News.

Lending Standards Board

The Lending Standards Board (LSB) is a self-regulatory body within the financial services sector (registration by lending firms being voluntary) which aims to ensure that all personal and small business borrowers receive a fair deal from their lender as set out in its Standards of Lending Practice (formerly the Lending Code). The LSB replaced the Banking Code Standards Board from 2 November 2009. Site content includes a list of registered firms, the Standards for both personal and business customers, various publications including annual reports, and a Lending Code archive. The latter is found under “Information hub” and then “Resources and information.”

Payment Systems Regulator

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is a subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority which operates as the independent economic regulator of the payment systems industry in the UK. It has concurrent competition powers alongside the Competition and Markets Authority and became fully operational on 1 April 2015. Publications on the PSR’s web site include consultations, policy statements, annual plans and reports.

Preventing Money Laundering

This is a policy paper, published in 2013 on the GOV.UK portal site, which sets out guidance on how HM Treasury and the Home Office work to combat money laundering and terrorism financing in the UK.

Prudential Regulation Authority

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms in the UK. It is part of the Bank of England, and was established by the Financial Services Act 2012 as one of the successors to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Within the Prudential Regulation section of the Bank of England web site there are PRA publications, consultations, and information on the regulatory data which firms need to provide. External links are provided to the separate web sites of the PRA Rulebook and the Financial Services Register.

UK Finance

UK Finance is a trade association which represents more than 250 of the leading firms providing finance, banking, markets and payments-related services in or from the UK. It was created on 1 July 2017 through a merger of several bodies including the British Bankers’ Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Payments UK. The site contains news, guides, policy papers, research reports and other downloadable publications.