U.S., U.K. to Form Banking Supervision Group

London–President Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown are establishing a joint organization to create plans and oversee the banking system, according to the Financial Times.The group will consist of senior Treasury and regulatory figures from London and Washington; primarily, it will work to improve day-to-day co-operation between U.S. and U.K. financial regulators.Because of concern that credit ratings agencies didn’t properly consider how the exposure of mortgage-based products would play out if the housing market declined, the new body will reconsider how credit ratings agencies determine risk, U.K. Treasury officials said.The working group also will examine ways banks and other institutions can improve transparency when evaluating complex financial products.Although details about its specific duties are still being determined, the group will create a plan about how to respond to the global financial crisis before the Group of Seven, International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings next month. Bush and Brown plan to discuss tackling the financial crisis later this week at a Nato summit in Bucharest, the Times said.