The Bank of England proposed changes to provide greater protection for bank customers and minimize disruptions to depositors in case of any panic situation when banks run into trouble. From January 2019, banks with core deposits more than GBP 25 billion will be required to ring-fence their core activities, the central bank's Prudential Regulation Authority said in a statement on Monday. "Ring-fencing will improve banks' resilience, by protecting them from shocks, and facilitate orderly resolution - both of which are needed for a stable financial system," Andrew Bailey, Deputy Governor of BoE. "These proposals will allow customers to have continuous access to the money in their bank account - or receive payment from the FSCS if this is not possible," he said. The PRA is also consulting on changes to enhance depositor and insurance policyholder protection. If the deposit-taker fails, new rules allow depositors to continuously access their deposits covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It plans to reduce the maximum time for depositors at a failed bank to get access to their funds to seven days from 20 days. The new proposal also introduce additional coverage for deposits higher than the GBP 85,000 compensation limit.