Martin Wheatley, managing director of the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority. Britain's banks have 18 months to stamp out incentives that encourage the mis-selling of financial products or face intrusive action.SIMON NEWMAN/Reuters
Britain should set up a new register that has the power to ban bankers if they fail to adhere to a set of standards, Barclays Plc said on Friday as part of a raft of industry proposals to repair banking's battered reputation.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), meanwhile, asked for more powers to root out abuses and restore public trust which it said has fallen to "extremely low" levels in the banking sector.
The FSA called for power to ban an individual on a temporary basis and said there was a "strong case" for reviewing the three-year limit within which the regulator must issue a warning notice against directly regulated staff at banks and other financial institutions.
Virgin Money, which last year bought former nationalized lender Northern Rock, said there was "a strong case" to force the full split of retail and investment banking.
The submissions were released at the start of a three-month inquiry by MPs into banking standards following a string of scandals, including interest-rate rigging at Barclays and the mis-selling of millions of insurance policies across the industry.
Banks are battling to win back public confidence after their reckless lending led to the 2007-08 financial markets crisis and the recent mis-selling scandals have intensified calls for the government to act.