UK to crack down on negligent company bosses Ministers are preparing a sweeping crackdown on negligent company bosses, in a shake-up of UK corporate law that would beef up regulators" powers to ban directors and boost compensation for failed companies" creditors. Vince Cable, business secretary, will use a speech at the London Stock Exchange on Monday to announce plans for tackling corporate excess in the wake of the financial crisis and to stop Britain becoming a haven for "shell" companies. He will clear the way for the disqualification of company directors that fail to follow rules, call for the introduction of new statutory duties for the heads of banks and strengthen the powers of regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority in policing City wrongdoing. The plans will come in a discussion document called Trust and Transparency that builds on the UK's pledge at the Group of Eight nations summit in June to make it harder for companies to hide illegal money and evade tax. The document will include a call for a register of company owners to help regulators track down tax evaders and money launderers. These proposals will strengthen the system for tackling the small minority of company directors that don't follow the rules. This is especially important in the light of the corporate failures during the financial crisis," said Mr Cable. We need to build trust in the City and business. Trust is crucial. We need to prevent the excesses of the past happening again. We also need more information on the owners of companies. That is very important, if you're serious about tax evasion, if you're serious about money laundering. The proposals include helping creditors receive compensation when they have suffered from a director's fraudulent or reckless behaviour. The document will also propose that a time limit of two years for bringing disqualification proceedings in insolvency cases should be extended to five years. It will consider what additional factors courts can take into account in director disqualification proceedings, such as the nature and number of previous company failures a director has been involved in. And, as part of its plans to introduce a central registry of the owners of companies, it will review the use of bearer shares, which do not require the identity of the holder to be made public, and nominee directors, which can be used to conceal the identity of the person controlling a company. The Confederation of British Industry has backed the plans. Matthew Fell, director of competitive markets at the CBI, said: "We support the broad drive for greater trust and transparency to promote more responsible capitalism."