Barings And The Bank Of England

EDM number 725 in 1994-95, proposed by Alistair Darling on 02/03/1995.

That this House believes that the collapse of Barings Bank cannot be dismissed as the result of actions of one individual dealer; calls for an independent inquiry to examine the failure of Barings Bank to operate an effective system of internal controls, and the apparent failure of the Bank of England, as supervisor, to ensure that adequate systems were operating effectively; recognises the public interest in efficient supervision and safeguards; calls for such an inquiry to examine why the information relating to Barings' position, which was freely available in Singapore and the Far East, should have escaped the attention of either Barings or the Bank of England; and further calls on the Bank of England to urgently examine the supervisory requirements it now imposes on the banking system.

This motion has been signed by a total of 76 MPs.