Quote: Chancellor George Osborne is to force banks to ring-fence their retail operations from investment banking.
In a speech on Wednesday he will say banks must be set up so that their branches and public savings and loans would not be damaged if their trading arms ran into trouble.
The legal separation of the functions of big banks was recommended by the Independent Commission on Banking.
He will also announce the privatisation of Northern Rock.
The former mutual was nationalised in February 2008, in the early stages of the financial crisis.
More protection
In his annual Mansion House speech, Mr Osborne will also say that banks will have to hold more capital to protect themselves against future losses than the new international minimum of 7%.
He will not put a figure on what minimum he will impose, but Treasury sources said that 10% would be "the right ballpark".
The 10% minimum was another recommendation of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) in its interim report in April. | 
