Alistair Darling is planning a new Banking Act this year that will strengthen the role of the Financial Services Authority, in an unexpected move that follows criticism that the Bank of England failed to warn adequately of the impending banking crisis.

Health check on British economy

Our slideshow of graphics displays the state of the UK economy, from the condition of the country’s banks to the plight of lending and from liquidity to the position of the equity markets

The chancellor wants to give the FSA a new statutory objective of maintaining financial stability, making it partly responsible for a function currently entrusted to the Bank.