Government, banks and pension funds meet for private 'Way Ahead' talks

Government officials are looking at a range of proposals intended to overhaul corporate governance for companies in Britain. Following a meeting in Whitehall last week, it was decided that this would include the creation of "responsibility committees" for banks to oversee risk.

At the private "Way Ahead" meeting of government officials, banks, leading pension funds, regulators and ratings agencies, a raft of proposals was tabled, including getting fund managers to pay for credit-rating agency information about companies in which they are investing, in an effort to address conflicts of interest and improve quality.

Credit-rating agencies have come in for a lot of flak in the past few years for failing to flag up the banking crisis.

The meeting, held under Chatham House secrecy rules, also looked at a new labelling system for financial products, while the role of investment consultants was also examined.