UK banks have urged the Prime Minister to push for global consensus on the future of regulation when the G20 leaders meet in Toronto this weekend.

Stephen Green, the chairman of the British Bankers’ Association, speaking for the heads of the UK’s major banks in a letter to David Cameron said the industry shared the government’s belief that the financial services sector delivered the best results for businesses and customers when markets were both competitive and properly regulated. He reiterated that banks want to play their full part in helping the UK’s economic recovery and are keen to work with the government on work to improve regulation and stability.

He said the success of the G20 process would hinge on its ability to deliver on a set of core issues which are of fundamental importance to the future well being of the international financial system. These issues include properly calibrated changes to the capital and liquidity frameworks which take account of the need for measures to be phased in over a suitable period of time and measures to reduce the likelihood and potential impact of a bank failure.

Other issues include measures to reopen sclerotic wholesale funding markets and the development of a macroprudential approach to the stewardship of the economy.