The main witnesses asked to attend the inquiry would be from the banking and financial services sectors, along with relevant areas of commercial law, accountancy and management consultancy.
The commission would have no powers to require witnesses to attend. Interest and pressure from the media would be the main lever for attendance, particularly in the case of very senior levels of management (such as those who have previously appeared before the Treasury Select Committee).
The commission might have more success initially in inviting witness evidence from those working at a less senior level, but with detailed practical experience of the operations of the investment and trading arms of the major UK banks.
Witnesses would be asked to explain themselves and their job in human as well as technical terms: what drives them, their motivations, and their measures of success.