Banking (Special Provisions) Bill

The problem with the Chief Secretary's argument is that the two objectives—financial stability on the one hand, and securing the Government's position on the other—might conflict. A profit-maximising strategy on the part of the bank, of the sort described by the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke), might further destabilise the market by undermining competition. On the other hand, that exact strategy might well secure the Government's position in the short term. Surely the strategic direction needed is the balance between the two objectives.