- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that its decision to make no written representations to the European Commission regarding the structure of the Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group was correct.
Answer
The European Commission has not opened a formal investigation into Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group, but instead was involved in commercially sensitive discussions concerning the banks'' plans for restructuring as required by the European Commission''s Rescue and Restructuring guidelines as applied under Article 87(2)(b) of the EC Treaty.
The UK Government, through HM Treasury, was fully involved in these discussions with the EC and both banks. I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 16 July, when the Scottish Government''s Access to Finance Survey 2009 was published, highlighting concerns about the concentration of the market in the provision of finance to SMEs in Scotland.
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer has responsibility for negotiating directly with the European Commission on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole on these reserved state aid matters, we consider that this was the correct course of action for the Scottish Government to pursue.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in relation to any proposed divestments in British banking in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth’s comment in a press release on 3 November 2009, “I welcome moves to increase competition in our banking sector”.
Answer
The Scottish Government is clear that the principle of increased competition and choice for business and individual consumers is a welcome development. We are also clear that it is vital that all efforts are made to build upon the skills and expertise which currently exists in Scotland by ensuring that opportunities for jobs and headquarter functions are maximised in Scotland. These objectives will be pursued by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the limiting of bonuses at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.
Answer
Bonuses should only be paid for exceptional performance and should be consistent with effective governance, risk management and the creation of shareholder value. We look to UK regulatory authorities to ensure that there is no reward for short-term speculative earnings.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it submitted representations on the UK Government’s forthcoming Financial Services and Business Bill as part of its legislative programme consultation and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have worked closely with HM Treasury officials on the Financial Services Bill and its application to Scotland.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the level of stock of core tier-one capital being required of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group by the Financial Services Authority.
Answer
This is a matter for the regulators.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the comments of the European Commissioner for Competition Policy that the Royal Bank of Scotland had become too big to supervise, too big to operate and too complex to understand.
Answer
It is clear from the events in the global banking sector that some organisations'' structures and products had become extremely complex and that this was a contributory factor in the failure by both financial institutions and regulatory bodies to foresee the current crisis.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it did not make representations to the European Commission (EC) prior to 3 November 2009 to ask that the Scottish Government be fully involved in how the EC’s plans for UK banks in receipt of state aid are progressed.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28787 on 26 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the response to the second supplementary to question S3F-1978 by Alex Salmond on 5 November 2009 (Official Report c. 20929), what its preferred solution for HBOS was, given the First Minister’s confirmation in his response that he was opposed to the HBOS/Lloyds TSB merger.
Answer
Our preference throughout the takeover process had been that a continuing standalone Bank of Scotland would have best served the interests of Scotland''s businesses, bank depositors and customers.
We remain, however, fully committed to helping Lloyds Banking Group realise the benefits of Scotland as a location of choice for them in terms of our highly skilled workforce, cost efficient property base and world class business infrastructure.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 25 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its views on future regulatory reform of banking in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government closely monitors, and comments on, regulatory proposals from UK, EU and international regimes as appropriate. Officials have most recently worked with HM Treasury officials on the UK''s Financial Services Bill as it applies to Scotland.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 23 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is regarding the exclusion of the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland from Lloyds Banking Group’s initial rights issue in May 2009.
Answer
The Scottish Government''s position is that the Lloyds TSB Foundation should be allocated all shares to which it is entitled.
