E-Financial
New Rules to Ban Bailout for ‘Too Big to Fail’ Banks
New global rules to prevent banks that are “too big to fail” from being bailed out by taxpayers have been proposed, according to BBC.
The rules, created by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global regulator, will require big banks to hold much more money against losses. Mark Carney, FSB chairman and governor of the Bank of England, said the plans were a “watershed” moment.
BBC quoted him as saying that it had been “totally unfair” for taxpayers to bail out banks after the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
“The banks and their shareholders and their creditors got the benefit when things went well,” he told the BBC.
“But when they went wrong the British public and subsequent generations picked up the bill – and that’s going to end”.
Mr Carney explained that the new system would ensure that bank shareholders, and lenders to banks such as bondholders, would become first in line to bear the brunt of future losses if banks could not pay out of their own resources.
“Instead of having the public, governments, [and] the taxpayer rescue banks when things go wrong; the creditors of banks, the big institutions that hold the banks’ debt – not the depositors – will become the new shareholders of banks if banks make mistakes.”
“Let’s face it, the system we’ve had up until now has been totally unfair,” he added.
At its peak in the UK alone, taxpayers’ direct subsidy to banks stood at more than £1 trillion according to a recent report from the National Audit Office.
In the wake of the financial crisis, world leaders asked the FSB to come up with proposals to prevent similar bailouts from happening in the future.
The proposed new rules, which are up for consultation and should take effect in 2019, require “global systemically important banks” to hold a minimum amount of cash to ensure they will be able to survive big losses without turning to governments for help.
The capital set aside should be worth 15-20% of the bank’s assets, the FSB said. That is a far bigger cushion against losses than is required by current banking rules.
RBS sign The UK government still owns an 80% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland
The FSB hopes this stronger policy will prevent taxpayers from being forced to pay billions of pounds again to stop big banks from collapsing, in the event of another financial crisis.
Anthony Browne of the British Bankers’ Association welcomed the proposals.
“The banking industry strongly supports this work, which is a really important step in ending ‘too big to fail’ and ensuring that never again will taxpayers have to step in to bail out banks,” he said.
“We agree with the aims and objectives of the proposals for total loss absorbing capacity (‘TLAC’), that there should be sufficient resources available to absorb losses in the event of bank failure and provide new capital to ensure critical economic functions can continue to be provided,” he added.
Less disruption
“Agreement on proposals for a common international standard on total loss-absorbing capacity for [big banks] is a watershed in ending ‘too big to fail’ for banks,” said Mr Carney.
“Once implemented, these agreements will play important roles in enabling globally systemic banks to be resolved without recourse to public subsidy and without disruption to the wider financial system.”
According to the BBC’s business editor Kamal Ahmed, analysts estimate the new capital requirements could cost €200bn (£157bn) for Europe’s banks alone, with the cost for globally significant banks in the US, Japan and China likely to be much higher.
The FSB has published a list of 30 banks it regards as “systemically important”, meaning their collapse could have a wider impact on global financial systems.
In the UK, the banks are Barclays, Standard Chartered, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Lloyds Banking Group has been removed from the list as its potential impact on financial systems has declined in recent years.
The UK government spent around £65bn directly bailing out RBS and Lloyds during the crisis. The government still owns an 80% stake in RBS and 25% of Lloyds.
Analysis: Andrew Walker, economics correspondent, BBC News.
Lehman Brothers was the classic case of a financial institution that was too big to fail – or at least it probably was according to the previous Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
Of course it DID fail, and the financial crisis entered a new and more dangerous phase after Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September 2008. The immediate lesson that many policy makers drew – and this is contested – was that it should have been rescued.
And so they decided that other big financial firms would not fail and taxpayers’ money was thrown at the banks around the world.
But there is another lesson drawn from the Lehman episode: that it would be far better to change the rules of finance to ensure that any bank could safely fail if it gets into serious difficulty no matter how big it is.
That’s where the Financial Stability Board’s new proposals come in.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced stricter rules guiding the use and management of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) as part of efforts to reduce fraudulent transactions within the financial system.The revised framework, which takes effect from May 1, includes tighter controls on BVN enrolment, data access and customer information updates.
The apex bank said the measures are aimed at strengthening identity management, improving fraud monitoring and safeguarding the integrity of banking transactions.
Under the new guidelines, BVN enrolment is now restricted to individuals aged 18 and above, while customers will only be allowed to change the phone number linked to their BVN once.
The restriction is designed to curb identity manipulation often exploited by fraudsters through repeated updates of personal information.
The CBN also directed financial institutions to maintain a temporary watchlist for BVNs linked to suspicious transactions.
Affected BVNs may be flagged for up to 24 hours, during which customers are expected to verify or clarify flagged transactions before further action is taken.
In addition, access to BVN data has been tightened, with the apex bank retaining exclusive control over the database while granting access only to licensed financial institutions under defined conditions.
The move, according to the CBN, is expected to enhance data security and support a more resilient financial system as BVN enrolment continues to grow.
Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission has given the nod to 11 crypto trading platforms to participate in its new regulatory sandbox programme, its first major step in support of crypto after passing a law to provide the local market with regulatory clarity in December.
The big news however is that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume is nowhere on the list, raising questions about the crypto exchange’s future in one of West Africa’s fastest-growing digital asset markets.
Newsghana reported that industry analysts covering the sandbox launch specifically flagged Binance as a notable absent player, alongside Yellow Card, whose mobile payment product Yellow Pay had previously been warned against by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for operating without authorisation. Neither company has publicly explained its absence from the cohort.
For Binance, the omission carries particular weight. The exchange has cultivated a visible presence in Ghana for several years, including direct engagement with regulators, public financial literacy campaigns, and the presence of senior representatives in Accra.
Despite that groundwork, it did not secure a place in the inaugural sandbox when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its list of approved Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) on March 10, 2026.
Analysts have pointed to Binance’s ongoing legal battle in neighbouring Nigeria as a factor likely complicating its regulatory position across the region.
And the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) is pursuing Binance for an $81.5 billion claim covering alleged economic losses and unpaid taxes, arguing the exchange has a significant economic presence that makes it liable for corporate income tax for 2022 and 2023, along with a 10 percent annual penalty on outstanding amounts.
The stakes of remaining outside Ghana’s regulatory framework are rising fast.
The BoG made clear on March 5, 2026, that all VASPs operating within Ghana’s jurisdiction including those serving Ghanaian residents through digital platforms with no physical office in the country must register with the Bank.
Firms that do not comply face sanctions and potential disqualification from future licensing.
Ghana’s digital asset market has grown rapidly, recording over $10 billion in cryptocurrency transactions by November 2025, up from roughly $6 billion the year before, making it one of West Africa’s most active markets.
With over three million users estimated to be active in the ecosystem, the country represents a market Binance cannot easily afford to be shut out of through regulatory non-compliance.
The eleven sandbox participants will effectively serve as the reference models for what a compliant licensed VASP looks like under Ghana’s framework.
Those that perform well within the first six months may transition to full licensing early, while those that fall short risk being shut out of the regulated market once the sandbox period concludes.
Binance did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The SEC Ghana and BoG have not publicly commented on why specific companies were excluded from the first sandbox cohort.
World Bank Group has debarred three African subsidiaries of global advisory firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for 21 months after being allegedly found guilty of manipulating procurement processes for a major cross-border electricity project.
In a statement, the Washington-based multilateral lender said PricewaterhouseCoopers Associates Africa Ltd, based in Mauritius, along with its Kenyan and Rwandan affiliates, engaged in “collusive and fraudulent practices” linked to the Eastern Electricity Highway Project, a flagship initiative to transmit hydropower from Ethiopia to Kenya.
The decision sidelines PwC from lucrative World Bank-funded projects on the continent, dealing a blow to one of the region’s most influential audit and advisory firms.
This development could reshape competition for high-value consulting work across emerging markets, potentially disrupting startups and tech firms reliant on World Bank funding, as scrutiny over governance and compliance tightens.
The World Bank, through its private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), offers grants and low-interest loans to startups across emerging markets.
Earlier this week, the IFC committed $20 million to invest in high-growth startups in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
“The debarment makes PwC Associates, PwC Kenya, PwC Rwanda, and any affiliates they control ineligible to participate in Bank Group-financed projects and operations,” the World Bank said.
“It is part of a settlement agreement under which the three companies admit culpability for sanctionable practices.”
The determination was based on the company’s conduct between 2019 and the award of contracts for consultancy services and asset valuation work for the Ethiopian state power utilities.
According to the World Bank statement, the firm obtained confidential procurement documents to improperly influence the award of a contract for the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards at the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation.
They also attempted to steer a separate contract for a fixed asset inventory and revaluation for the power utility towards PwC Associates.
During the bidding and execution of that contract, the bank found that the company misrepresented the availability and qualifications of key experts and failed to disclose the full list of subconsultants involved.
According to the World Bank, the debarment is shorter than would otherwise apply because PwC admitted misconduct.
The advisory firm also agreed to a series of remedial measures, including internal investigations, disciplinary action against responsible staff, terminating relationships with all subconsultants involved, and additional staff training.
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