UK 'gold-plating' blamed for NRock crisis

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UK rules on transparency were to blame for the Northern Rock bank run last month, according to European Commissioner, Colin McCreevy.

Giving a speech in Dublin, McCreevy blasted UK regulators for ‘gold-plating’ transparency rules, which led to investor panic and, ultimately, the first British bank run in over 150 years. McCreevy says: “in recent weeks, gold-plated transparency rules stood in the way of the quiet resolution of a problem before it became a crisis. The result was that transparency rules that were intended to underpin investor confidence, when put to the test, actually promoted investor panic. “Panic that culminated in a bank run-averted only by a central bank lifeboat which in turn spread moral hazard t...

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