We have published the findings from our second assessment of the resolvability of the eight major UK banks. We have shared a video in which Ruth Smith, Executive Director for Resolution, introduces the Resolvability Assessment Framework and explains the findings.
This is the second assessment by the Bank of England (the Bank), as resolution authority, of the eight major UK banks’ preparations for resolution under the Resolvability Assessment Framework (RAF) ? Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest Group, Santander UK, Standard Chartered and Virgin Money UK. The findings of this second assessment show that the major UK banks have continued to make significant progress in improving their preparations for resolution, including embedding resolution preparations into their everyday business.
A key feature of the post-global financial crisis reforms was to make resolution a cornerstone of financial stability and essential to protect the public purse. As the UK’s resolution authority, the Bank has a flexible toolkit to deal with failing banks according to the circumstances and time available to respond. The Bank’s resolution of Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) in March 2023 demonstrated that we remain ready and able to use the resolution regime to protect financial stability if required to do so. Resolution, especially of a large bank, will never be easy to execute given the complexity and risks ? but it is better than the alternative of bailing out a failed bank with public funds.