Bank-split plans ‘will hit growth’

Bank-split plans ‘will hit growth’ - From telegraph.co.uk

Leading economists have warned the Government that proposals to implement the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) controversial plans to split retail and investment banking will damage the UK’s economic growth.

As the Chancellor prepares to confirm the process will cost the banking industry about £7bn a year, the economists, led by a former senior government adviser, cautioned that the provisions called for by Sir John Vickers could slow growth at a potentially critical time for the British economy.

“We are more dependant on banks right now to get the economy moving again than we have been for some time,” warned Vicky Pryce, the former joint head of the Government Economic Service, who is now a senior managing director at FTI Consulting.

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