NASDAQ Careers: Find a Job Now Web NASDAQ.com
Search

UK Treasury: Banking Reform Needs To Take Place Over Time



LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. City Minister Paul Myners on Wednesday defended the government's financial reform programs, saying fundamental changes are taking place.

Responding to comments Tuesday from Bank of England Governor Mervyn King that "little real reform" had taken place despite the financial crisis, Myners said the treasury's banking reform plans are sweeping.

"I think the governor and the government are agreed that there is a need for fundamental reform, and that reform program has been clearly articulated," he told the British Broadcasting Corporation. "But it cannot happen overnight."

Myners said the Walker review of financial companies' corporate governance will lay out "fundamental" reforms.

But U.K. reforms cannot take place without other countries putting in place similar measures, he said.

He also said banks should focus on building up capital and that they should only pay out bonuses when these are "properly earned and justified."

-By Laurence Norman, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; laurence.norman@ dowjones.com


  (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
  10-21-090620ET
  Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

The Wall Street Journal
Click here for a free trial