Britain is forcing banks to throw a protective boundary around domestic high street banking in an effort to protect taxpayers from having to bail out losses made in riskier parts of investment banking. The changes will come into effect by 2019.

The Bank of England said banks have to submit preliminary plans by Jan. 6, 2015. It did not reveal if banks will need to hold more capital in the ring-fenced bank or if leverage ratios will be different, and said those details will come at a later date, expected next year.

Banks will need to submit details on their legal and operating structure, including balance sheets and profit and loss statements.

Banks have been working on plans for the separation, but have said they need more clarity from the regulator on what is to be included in the ring-fenced bank, particularly how some services are provided to companies, such as derivatives and hedging products, and the level of capital required.

The BoE said it expects no more than one-third of the ring-fenced bank's board to be current employees or directors of another part of the group. The chairman and chief executive of the ring-fenced bank will not be executives of parts of the bank that conduct activities not allowed within the ring-fence.

Pay policy at the ring-fenced bank should be made in a manner consistent with sound risk-management and long-term interests of the domestic retail bank, and distinct from the group as a whole, the BoE said.

(The corrected version of the story mentions that deadline is in three months, not two).

(Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Huw Jones)