Tyrie writes to FCA and PRA on bank IT system failures

30 September 2016

The Treasury Committee publishes correspondence between Rt Hon. Andrew Tyrie MP, Chairman of the Treasury Committee, the CEOs of RBS and HSBC, and the FCA and PRA, in relation to bank IT system failures.

In the light of these replies, Mr Tyrie has written to Sam Woods, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Chief Executive Officer of the PRA, and Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA to request further assurances from the regulators that they are acting to strengthen the resilience and security of IT systems in financial services.

Chair's comments

Commenting on the correspondence, Mr Tyrie said:

"Banks continue to suffer failures and breaches of their IT systems, exposing millions of customers to uncertainty, disruption and sometimes distress. We can't carry on like this. Responsibility for sound IT systems is often lacking at the highest levels of management, and ultimately customers pay the price.
In January, on behalf of the Treasury Committee, I wrote to the regulators urging them to take action to ensure that banks improve the resilience and security of their systems and enhance IT expertise at Board level, with a clear understanding of accountability when things go wrong. The regulators themselves also need a clear division of responsibilities to avoid duplication and gaps in their approach to address these problems.
Customers remain more exposed than necessary to the risks of IT failures, including delays in paying bills and an inability to obtain access to their own money. The proliferation of remote and online banking, including the use of biometric data for customer identification, may also be increasing the risk of unauthorised access to their accounts. A great deal of work still needs to be done. So I have written today to the FCA and the PRA for further assurances that they are getting on with it."

Further information

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