Disclosure of member’s interest and staff members’ interests

Members

Professor Paul Geroski, the Chairman of the CC, has appointed Professor Peter Moizer and Mrs Sarah Brown, the members of the CC, to the group that is conducting this inquiry.

Professor Peter Moizer is one of three strategic advisers to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, dealing with long terms funding issues, such as the balance between equity and bonds. External fund managers control the investments of the Pension Fund. Professor Moizer has no involvement in the share selection decisions of the Pension Fund and is unaware of the shares in which it invests. It is possible, however, that the Pension Fund may include investments the value of which could be affected by the outcome of the inquiry.

Mrs Sarah Brown has a shareholding of 3,500 shares in Barclays Bank. As a trustee she has a non beneficial interest in a shareholding of 2,360 in Barclays Bank. Mrs Brown is a non-executive director of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). At the FSCS she is a member of the audit committee and chairs the Deposit-taking industry committee, which meets once a year.

The CC is satisfied that the matters disclosed above will not affect Professor Moizer’s or Mrs Brown’s ability to act independently or impartially in discharging the CC’s functions in this inquiry.

Staff

The daughter of Douglas McCreadie, the Inquiry Secretary, works for Which? (formerly the Consumers’ Association). To the best of Mr McCreadie’s knowledge, his daughter does not work on the subject matter of this inquiry.

Peter Coopman, one of the Competition Commission’s legal advisers working on this inquiry, wrote to his local trading standards office in September 2004 to express concern about the propriety of the conduct of a subsidiary of one of the main parties to this inquiry. His complaint was in turn passed to the OFT. Mr Coopman is not aware whether any action has been taken. The subsidiary in question was not a provider of home credit services and the issues which Mr Coopman raised are not directly relevant to the current inquiry.

Amanda Rowlatt, Chief Economist, has shareholdings of a value of less than £5,000 in each of the following financial institutions: Bradford & Bingley plc, Friends Provident Life and Pensions Limited and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and a shareholding of less than £500 in Bristol & West plc.

The CC does not believe that the matters disclosed above in relation to the members of staff affect their ability to act impartially and independently in advising the Group.