The former governor of the Bank of England, Lord Mervyn King, says the banking sector has not learned the lessons of the 2008 GFC.

Lord King says not enough regulatory measures were set up after the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) to ensure banks would not collapse if things go sour again.

“I don't think we have a banking system that is safe,” he told reporters this week

He said runs on banks are still very possible.

“That was the thing, which in October 2008 caused a critical failure of the banking system and financial system in New York, so there is plenty of scope to rethink what we have been doing,” he said.

Regulators have attempted to set minimums on the amount of cash that banks must hold as a buffer since 2007, while lending standards have been scrutinised and improved too.

Lord King, governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, says it is not enough.

“The idea that we have removed all risk from the system is mistaken,” he said.

“We've increased the amount of capital which banks have issued so they can absorb losses — we roughly doubled that and that's a good thing.

“But if you double a relatively small number you end up with something that is still a relatively small number.

“It is much better than it was but I think the idea that we are immune from another banking crisis is a sensible response.”

He said one of the most concerning factors facing the future of banking is the extraordinary level of private and government debt and markets' serious mispricing of geopolitical risk.

“The amount of debt in the world today is higher than it was before the financial crisis, so we haven't resolved that problem,” he said.

“Volatility in markets seems to be at an all-time low. That, I think, is very worrying.

“It is reminiscent of occasions in the past where financial markets ignored major developments in politics and then were suddenly taken by surprise when a big shock occurred.”