Dive Brief:
- Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the parliament's Treasury Committee, said Britain's banks need to dedicate more resources to secure their IT infrastructure, according to a Reuters report.
- Britain's retail banks have been hit by a number of technology failures in recent years.
- Tyrie also suggested the banks designate a board member to oversee the issue.
Dive Insight:
A year ago, HSBC suffered an online and mobile banking blackout, and the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays have also experienced IT failures of various kinds. In response, UK lawmakers are calling on banks in the country to invest more in IT.
"Every few months we have yet another IT failure at a major bank," Tyrie said in a statement. "These IT blunders and weaknesses are exposing millions of people to uncertainty, disruption and sometimes distress. Businesses suffer, too. We can’t carry on like this."
Tyrie also suggested that Andrew Bailey, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, “should be tasked with ensuring the banks develop more resilience.”
The Royal Bank of Scotland said it plans to "invest hundreds of millions of pounds" in its computer systems.
