While this news is local to the U.K. this phenomena is veritably international in scope. Where I hail from, Australia, banks are effectively an unelected, unaccountable branch of government. Our feckless elected leaders, as we all are in substantial debt to these lending institutions, are at the mercy of the federal reserve and four major banks. Even better than interest debt they especially like how fees earn tonnes of money for them and they almost always get what they want when they want it. After all the laws were made for these guys. Some really reckless banks could crash but as we have learnt taxpayers can be forced to pick up the tab and then $ome when these captains of capitalism make, how does one say it delicately, errors of judgement. We bow to Wall Street - lest we offend them! Don't take my house away!
Britain's bankers received a double boost yesterday as they celebrated a landmark victory over unauthorised overdraft fees and saw off the threat of a crackdown on pay. (more...)
National interest and policy making vs. the banking sector
The idea that banks can be regulated is ludicrous. Does anyone seriously believe our politicians and governments will stand up to them? If there is any doubt about this think how much our Australian government, for example, bends knee to the fossil energy lobbyists. We are in so much debt to banks that it scares me, and to be honest we do not have a strong track record when it comes to making bold decisions for the long term. Let's face it. We really don't like change at all, and that's because on the whole we tend to be a reluctant, apathetic and procrastinatory lot. Change will come whether we like it or not. I'd like to think we could be smart and make the hard choices that inevitably have to be made, preferably sooner than later.
Professor Ross Garnaut: "I think that Obama and the people closest to him know that that the influence has to be unwound, but Wall Street is taking nothing for granted, it's vesting more heavily in the political process now than ever before, and so you'd be an optimist to think that first best regulatory arrangements will be introduced."
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