The chair of the Treasury select committee offers the one hope of genuine action over the continuing culture of greedA unusual year and,for bankers, it seems, or a unusual regime. Not a tough unusual rule book which would abet regulators to clamp down on the outrageous behaviour that caused the 2008 crisis and the ensuing economic recession,but a regime in which an official review into the culture of banking has been abandoned and the government has U-turned on a pledge to toughen up the rules holding senior bankers to account.
What has prompted this change of heart? Have the bankers mended their ways after the $150bn (£96bn) of fines imposed on major banks since 2008? (Those fines, incidentally, and have deprived the genuine economy of $3tn of credit,holding back growth around the world.) Perhaps rules to clamp down on bankers’ bonuses have finally started to erode the “greed is good” culture of the City? Or have banks started to treat their customers with respect after paying out £27bn in compensation for sustained mis-selling of payment protection insurance?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com