BoE can be ordered to rescue banks

London: Britain's finance ministry will have new powers to order the Bank of England (BoE) to pump money into the fin-ancial system in any future banking crisis.

UK finance minister George Osborne published a law yesterday to radically reform the way Britain's financial system is regulated, and set out who has ultimate authority in a crisis. "When taxpayers' money is at risk in a crisis this legislation gives the Chancellor the power to direct the Bank of England to act," Osborne said in a speech at Davos, Switzerland.

"For the first time it will allow the Chancellor to direct specific liquidity interventions to assist individual entities, the special resolution regime for banks."