Mr. Gerry Cross:

On the question of who drives the reform, first, to take the industry, and this involves driving up standards, changing the way firms and the people within them behave, and changing their culture, that is something that was primarily to be driven and made happen within the firms themselves. The Chairman will recall from the culture report we published that we assessed that culture and put the onus back on the banks, requiring them to make a range of changes. However, the role of the regulator is very important. What we are putting on the table in this package is a set of proposals we believe will be very helpful and instrumental in helping drive that cultural change. For example, we clearly say we now need to know who is responsible for what within a firm and that the management of a firm must articulate who precisely is responsible for what, and that includes matters such as the implementation of this framework and responsibility for overseeing the compliance and conduct within firms. It specifically asks them to call out who within the firm is responsible for implementing this framework and overseeing conduct etc. It sets out standards of behaviour, general standards that apply throughout the firm, and specific standards for senior managers in taking all reasonable steps to make sure their areas are effectively controlled, that they do not cause regulatory breaches etc. We believe this framework very much goes towards answering the Chairman's question regarding how we make sure someone is taking responsibility for these changes.

The Chairman also asked us about the Central Bank. The fact there are three of us here today, and there could have been others as well, shows that this is something that the whole of the bank has been brought into. It is driven from the Governor down through the deputy governors and then throughout the organisation. We have a very significant enforcement aspect to this. As regards how we hold people and firms to account, we have a policy aspect to this with respect to what a framework should look like, what a good framework should look like, and what lessons have we learned from overseas. There is a sectoral aspect to it in terms of what is happening in the banking and insurance sectors. Also, the area of consumer protection, which is not represented here but easily could have been, has an important role in this regard. This is a commitment to drive up standards within the financial services sector. It is a commitment across the bank. If the Chairman notes our three-year strategy, I would point to the idea of the financial sector serving consumers and the economy, and the role we play in driving that to happen is at the heart of this.

I hope that answers the Chairman's question. It is a matter in which we have a very keen interest.