Banking Bill

I understood and supported at the time the idea that the competition laws had to be removed, because there was a serious risk of the collapse of one or other—or both—of the banks. That is no longer the case; the Government are now in a position to take a substantial stake in those banks if they remain separate, and they undoubtedly will do so if the banks merge. What is the point of setting aside competition law now? Why do the Government want to take a stake in a large bank that will have a dominant market share that would not have been permitted if the banks had carried on, financially solvent?