Title: The Banking Act 2009: a historical piece of legislation or a relic of our time? Only history can tell

Authors: Clare Chambers

Addresses: Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, UK

Abstract: We have for years been in a golden age of available credit and economic boom; today we are experiencing the economic bust. This cyclical evolution of the economic system cannot be changed by regulation, but what can be done is to ensure that the extremes of the cycle are not reached as they have been in the current economic crisis. Banks will fail. They will succeed. Banks are not homogenous; they are large, small and have differing ethoses. Yet, what regulators can do is to look at the past, chart the mistakes made and lessen the effects on the future by trying to minimise the highs and lows of the cycle. The question here is whether the Banking Act 2009 (the Act) will achieve this or it was simply a knee jerk reaction to the economic crisis. The paper will briefly explore the current economic crisis to set the scene for a discussion of the Act. Finally, the paper will explore the possible consequences of the Act.

Keywords: Banking Act 2009; UK; United Kingdom; economic crisis; economic cycles; legislation; banks; available credit; economic booms; cyclical evolution; regulation; company failures; business ethoses; corporate ethos; regulators; regulatory bodies; liability; scientific enquiry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSE.2010.031824

International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 2010 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.72 - 85

Published online: 25 Feb 2010 *

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