Through the exercise of their responsibilities, the Bank and the FSA gather a wide range of information and data. Information exchange takes place on several levels. The Bank's Deputy Governor (financial stability) is a member of the FSA Board, and the FSA Chairman sits on the Court of the Bank. At all levels, there should be close and regular contact between the FSA and the Bank, who also maintain a programme of staff secondments to foster a culture of co-operation.
The Treasury has no operational responsibility for the activities of the FSA and the Bank, but there are a variety of circumstances where the FSA and the Bank will need to alert the Treasury. For example, where a serious problem could cause wider financial or economic disruption or where there could be a need for a support operation.
A Standing Committee on Financial Stability is chaired by the Treasury and comprises representatives of the Treasury, the Bank and the FSA. It is the principal forum for agreeing policy and, where appropriate, coordinating or agreeing action between the three Authorities. The Standing Committee meets on a monthly basis at deputies (officials) level to discuss individual cases of significance and other developments relevant to financial stability. Meetings can be called at other times by any of the participating Authorities if there is an issue which needs to be addressed urgently. A sub-group of the Standing Committee coordinates the Authorities' joint work on financial sector resilience and maintains and tests arrangements for crisis management in an operational disruption.