Author: |Posted: 1:14 pm on 03/11/09
Category: Faisal Islam on Economics
Just over a year ago we thought that the £37bn injection of equity by the government into Lloyds and RBS was the landmark, never-to-be-repeated event. Bailout 1.0 literally saved the banking system from collapse, and was copied around the world.
Then, in January, came Bailout 2.0, which we were told would be a bailout not of the banks, but of the economy. That bailout was to enable the banks to continue lending to prospective homeowners and to businesses.
Author: |Posted: 10:46 am on 16/07/09
Category: Snowblog
So today we get a squint at the new regulations that MAY be brought in to guard against the greed, ignorance and arrogance that brought about the banking melt down and consequent financial crisis last year.
Sir David Walker’s interim report lands on the chancellor’s desk today. It is said to reveal the unbelievable lack of knowledge that existed on many bank boards. read more
Author: |Posted: 11:41 am on 08/07/09
Category: Faisal Islam on Economics
‘Hockney-esque’ is how the City minister, Lord Myners last week described today’s government effort to reboot Britain’s banking system.
It’s a high-brow reference to the fact that today’s government proposals will be a mix of white and green paper. Many of the more radical decisions will be delayed for more consultation. Some angry taxpayers could argue that toilet paper is more appropriate.
Author: |Posted: 4:57 pm on 01/05/09
Category: Faisal Islam on Economics
Playing the ‘blame game’ is mostly viewed as a contemptuous pursuit. But a credible version of Credit Crunch Cluedo will be vital to our long-term prospects.
After the dotcom boom, instead of watching the banking system’s ever more elaborate risk-multiplication ruses, the DTI and Treasury pumped out reports about how to copy the enterprising success of Silicon Valley.
One of the few useful insights was that learning the lessons of failure was the surest way to ensure long-term success. In the context of companies, that led to a change to bankruptcy law in the UK. But the concept is as true for a person, or indeed a country. read more
Author: |Posted: 5:05 pm on 18/03/09
Category: Snowblog
AIG, the US insurer which got through $170bn of taxpayers’ money in order to survive and then had the cheek to pay $165m of it to dozens of senior executives, is up before a congressional committee today.
Author: |Posted: 3:55 pm on 12/03/09
Category: Snowblog
I blogged earlier this week about the possibility that our disgraced bank bosses had signed “gagging orders” as part of their severance deals, stopping them from talking about what happened to the banks on their watch (earlier this week we asked RBS and Lloyds TSB to confirm or deny this, but they have yet to do so).
Author: |Posted: 12:15 pm on 26/02/09
Category: Snowblog
I turn on the radio to find that the government is launching a fund to sap up the toxic debts of the banks. Not just the banks we own, but others too.
Is it still beyond the realms of reason to ask whether some of these specific debts could not be unwound to find out how they were put together?
