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Banking Bill

I shall seek to answer the noble Baroness’s point. I think that the principles I articulated continue to apply and be relevant. I find it difficult to envisage a circumstance in which a continuing continuity obligation, be it general or specific, is likely to need to run for more than two years. However, one cannot rule out such a possibility when it relates to very complex IT systems that support retail banking and are at times housed in another part of the larger organisation. I urge the noble Baroness to take comfort from the fact that I share her view that there should be an appropriate and early separation, but not to the point that it places at risk the ability of the transferee—or newco, as the noble Viscount, Lord Eccles, described the company.