1957 Bank Rate Tribunal

The Bank Rate Tribunal of 1957-58 investigated allegations that advance knowledge of the Bank of England's decision to raise the Bank Rate from 5% to 7% on 19 September 1957 had been improperly disclosed, enabling certain individuals to profit. Established under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 and chaired by Lord Justice Parker, the tribunal examined whether ministers, civil servants, or City figures had exploited inside information. The tribunal's report, published on 21 January 1958, found no evidence of improper disclosure and exonerated all those under suspicion. The inquiry made no recommendations for reform. While the tribunal produced no direct legislative or institutional changes, it represents an early post-war examination of concerns about insider knowledge in financial markets. The issues it investigated - the proper handling of market-sensitive government information and the potential for insider trading - would remain matters of public concern. Statutory regulation of insider dealing would not arrive until the Company Securities (Insider Dealing) Act 1985, nearly three decades later. The tribunal's use of the 1921 Act procedures also contributed to the body of precedent for investigating allegations of misconduct in public life, though the Act itself would later be replaced by the Inquiries Act 2005.