Govt will not place insurance expert on FPC

The government will not ensure the new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) includes an expert on insurance, the Chancellor has said.

The FPC will be part of the Bank of England (BoE) and will be responsible for identifying, reducing and removing systemic risks from the financial system.

George Osborne said the government would not prescribe the individual qualifications and experience needed for individuals to become FPC members.

During the second reading of the Financial Services Bill on Monday, which enshrines in law the new regulatory system, Osborne was asked if the FPC would be required to contain a member with insurance industry experience.

Osborne said: "We do not want to prescribe the qualifications of the FPC members, but we do want to ensure their experience is broad."

He added that in selecting members of the FPC, the government must "make a trade-off" between appointing people "who know what is going on in financial services" and appointing individuals whose external interests in financial services present them with a conflict of interest within their committee role.