OFF-BALANCE SHEET ACCOUNTING BY BANKS

Early day motion 2295, tabled 20 October 2008 by Harry Cohen (Labour). Signed by 47 members.

That this House deplores the widespread practice by UK banks of creating special-purpose financial vehicles, like orphan companies or bogus charitable ones, based in off-shore tax havens in order to undertake high risk speculative investment and evade tax, whilst keeping information about such activities off their published balance sheets; considers it incredible that this activity was neither monitored by UK financial authorities nor illegal, and insists that it must be made so; calls for a full accounting by all UK banks of their activity in this regard over the last five years at least; and further calls for public inquiries by the Charity Commission and the Financial Services Authority in their respective areas of responsibility.

Signatures by party: Labour 35, Liberal Democrat 7, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1.