Thursday 17 May 2012

Coalition - PLEASE get a grip

The UK Treasury has admitted that the white paper on bank reform, based on the recommendations of the Sir John Vickers report, will not be published until June. If the legislation is passed much of it will not be implemented until more than 10yrs after the crisis that prompted reform. There's urgency for you. The Government can, of course,screw up education & the NHS & much else at very high speed. Meanwhile JP Morgan Chase follow UBS in uncovering massive trading losses ($2bn).JP Morgans boss, who doubtless will still be richly rewarded, admits to "errors,sloppiness and bad judgment".Then Clinton Cards is brought down with great loss of jobs by Barclays Bank & RBS selling the loans they have made to Clinton to an American competitor - American Greetings - who immediately called them in. If the banks don't see that it is their job to prop up failing businesses (& it probably isn't) it should not be the Taxpayers job to prop up failing banks. Even more so when Barclays think it is proper to set aside £2.1bn in bonuses & only £700m for dividends. The Government hopes that 'investors' will sort this mess out,but institutional investors are all too often part of the mutual backscratch society and vast numbers of ordinary retail investors don't get to vote on directors remuneration because their shares are held in 'nominee' accounts. To finally add insult to injury the Government is secretly trying to offload its shareholding (or part of it) in RBS & Lloyds at a considerable loss to the taxpayer. As its cover the Treasury Select Committee will be taking evidence on such disposal - not from the poor bloody infantry of taxpayers - but from such 'objective' individuals as the CEO of Standard Life,the Head of UK investments at Schroders and so forth. Then there's the BSkyB affair - - - No wonder the voters are deserting the Coalition in droves.

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