the hook if things do go wrong. When this Government came to office there was no agreement in Britain about how this 'too-big-to-fail' problem should be addressed. Indeed, I've sat as a guest at this very dinner in years past listening as one speech from this lectern was completely contradicted by the speech that followed. That's why when I first spoke here, I announced the names of five highly respected individuals whose job it would be to listen to all sides of the argument, propose a solution and help bring an end to the uncertainty. The Independent Commission on Banking has now published its Interim Report and I would like to pay tribute to Sir John Vickers and his fellow Commissioners for the excellent job they have done. It has commanded respect at home and huge interest abroad. The Independent Commission on Banking has put forward two particularly important proposals. Bail-in instead of bail-out - so that private investors, not taxpayers, bear the losses if things go wrong. And a ring fence around better capitalised high street banks to make them safer, and to protect their vital services to the economy if things go wrong. Today I have told the Commission that the Government endorses both these proposals in principle. Of course, the Commissioners are still consulting and preparing their final report -- and I won't pre-empt their conclusions. We will judge their final proposals in practice against the following conditions:  All banks should be allowed to fail safely