With the UKFI succession issue resolved with the appointment of Robin Budenberg , the body's chief John Kingman gave a fluent hour-long performance in what was his last appearance as a civil servant in front of the Treasury select committee.

Asked about bolstering corporate governance at RBS and Lloyds, Mr Kingman pointed to the "major changes" of the boards at both banks: at RBS, 14 directors, including the chairman and chief executive, had left since last autumn while Lloyds saw the departure of five non-executive directors and the arrival of a new chairman.