Minutes of the Wholesale Distribution Steering Group – 1 December 2021

Minutes

Item 1 – Standing agenda items

3 November 2021 minutes

The group agreed the 17 November minutes. The Chair explained that the full package of minutes from recent meetings will be published alongside the public update.

Sharing information on stakeholder management

Barclays noted that they had a discussion with MP Paul Maynard this week and communicated that a public update on the wholesale development work would be published by the end of the year.

Item 2 – Project Update/ Timetable

Eversheds provided an update on the latest timeline and work plan. They are currently reviewing the collective industry commitments to wholesale cash distribution and will subsequently review and approve the public update document, recently shared by the Bank, ahead of the next communications review meeting on 3 December.

The Chair raised that the group are still targeting the 15 December. The publication date will be formally agreed at the next WDSG meeting on the 8 December when the group reviews the final publication pack.

Item 3 – Commitment Statements

Eversheds explained that they have collated commitments on resilience, efficiency and environmental/sustainability, and an overarching statement that the detail of these commitments will be presented to the Bank in the individual plans. Eversheds noted that the commitments are subject to final sign off.

The Chair noted that these were collective commitments by the industry, and that individual commitments and associated measurable plans will be set out to the Bank of England in Q1 2022. The Chair also clarified that the different roles and responsibilities of the UK underwriting banks and operators in the market would be taken into account when agreeing those plans to ensure appropriate accountability.

The Chair explained that the target is for members to formally sign up to the commitments at the next WDSG meeting on the 8 December, so that they can be published as part of the public update.

Members enquired about the individual Press releases which are intended to be published alongside the public update. The Chair noted that the purpose of the individual statements was for members to reinforce that they will play their part in delivering the industry-wide commitment to protect wholesale cash distribution in the UK.

Item 4 – WDSG Communications Review Group Update/ Media Strategy

The Bank provided an update on the work of the WDSG Communications Review Group and thanked members for their feedback and providing constructive views. A stable draft of the public update document has now been produced and a final review of the document will take place at the next meeting on 3 December. The document will then be brought back to the next WDSG on 8 December for agreement of the overall communications package.

The Bank confirmed that the Communications Review Group will also review the publication and press strategy on 3 December.

The Bank also provided an update on the review of the NCS Rulebook, which is currently under way, and the key areas of focus. The aims will be to simplify rules where appropriate, promote innovation and support sustainability. This will be a consultative process with industry through 2022.

Item 5 – Review Action Log

Actions were reviewed and closed where applicable.

Item 6 – AOB

None.

Committee attendees

Bank of England: Sarah John (Chair), Nick Butt, Elisabeth Bertalanffy-Fournier, Ronan McClintock, James Best, Molly Galligan

Eversheds: Ros Kellaway, Russell Saunders, Mark McLintock, Victoria Pickard

Barclays: Tim Allen

HSBC: Sue Yarham

Lloyds Banking Group: Richard Hill

Natwest: Colin Brindley

Santander UK: Robert White

Post Office: Russell Hancock

HM Treasury: Derek Dunne, Kaelan Bhate, Abigail White

Virgin Money: Derek Walker

Danske: Kevin McMullan

G4S: Paul Van Der Knapp

TRM: Anne Jessopp

Vaultex: Neil Perry

Apologies

Trystan Richards (Eversheds), Richard Talbot (Natwest), Martin Barrett (Lloyds), Julie Fitzgibbon (BOI), John Garrett (AIB), Phil Vaughan (Vaultex), Azin Roussos (HMT)