UK Banking Commission chief makes case for ring-fencing retail operations

Independent Commission on Banking chief John Vickers rules out “radical narrow banking” but says some separation between investment and retail banks could help

John Vickers, head of the UK's Independent Commission on Banking, on Saturday discussed the desirability of some separation between investment and retail banking, while ruling out a radical structural overhaul that would produce narrow banks.

Vickers, a former chief economist at the Bank of England (BoE), said although the Commission would not advocate a "radical form of narrow banking", the rationale underpinning the idea was appealing as it foisted risk back onto the markets.

Addressing the