Prominent figures in the City of London this morning welcomed the UK Government's decision to hand the Bank of England a swathe of new powers, but warned that the hard work begins now as the coalition government enacts its plan of sweeping regulatory reform.

Chancellor George Osborne last night set out plans to redraw the regulatory map, disbanding the Financial Services Authority and handing the Bank of England responsibility for both the balance sheet of the financial system as a whole and micro prudential, or firm specific, oversight.