Public Inquiry
Inquiry into the Supervision of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Status: Completed
Chair: Lord Justice Thomas Bingham
Established: Jul 1991
Report: Oct 1992
Commissioned by: HM Treasury
Non-statutory inquiry into the Bank of England's supervision of Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) following the bank's collapse in July 1991 amid revelations of massive fraud. Concluded that the Bank's supervision was "a tragedy of errors, misunderstandings and …
Historical inquiry (pre-Inquiries Act 2005). Listed for reference — recommendation progress is not actively tracked.
Legacy & impact
The Bingham Inquiry examined the supervision of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) following its collapse in July 1991, when regulators in 69 countries simultaneously closed what was then the largest bank failure in history. Lord Justice Bingham's report, published in October 1992, found that the Bank of England had been too cautious and deferential in its supervision, and that international regulatory cooperation had been inadequate for overseeing a bank operating across multiple jurisdictions.
While the inquiry made no formal recommendations, its findings informed significant reforms to UK banking supervision. The Bank of England Act 1998 transferred banking supervision from the Bank of England to the newly created Financial Services Authority, addressing concerns about the Bank's dual role as both monetary authority and banking supervisor. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 established the FSA as a unified financial regulator, with the BCCI failure cited as one of several regulatory failures that demonstrated the need for consolidated supervision.
The inquiry's findings also contributed to international regulatory developments, particularly the Basel Committee's Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision published in 1997. These principles established global standards for banking supervision and cross-border regulatory cooperation. The UK's approach to banking supervision underwent further reform following the 2008 financial crisis, with the Financial Services Act 2012 abolishing the FSA and returning prudential supervision to the Bank of England through the Prudential Regulation Authority.
While the inquiry made no formal recommendations, its findings informed significant reforms to UK banking supervision. The Bank of England Act 1998 transferred banking supervision from the Bank of England to the newly created Financial Services Authority, addressing concerns about the Bank's dual role as both monetary authority and banking supervisor. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 established the FSA as a unified financial regulator, with the BCCI failure cited as one of several regulatory failures that demonstrated the need for consolidated supervision.
The inquiry's findings also contributed to international regulatory developments, particularly the Basel Committee's Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision published in 1997. These principles established global standards for banking supervision and cross-border regulatory cooperation. The UK's approach to banking supervision underwent further reform following the 2008 financial crisis, with the Financial Services Act 2012 abolishing the FSA and returning prudential supervision to the Bank of England through the Prudential Regulation Authority.