Our financial system only works for the 1%. It will take another crash to fix it | John Quiggin
Financialised capitalism has failed, and cannot be fixed by more and better regulation
The royal commission into banks has uncovered fraud and misconduct on a massive scale, amounting to nearly $1bn and perhaps more. The usual defences of "bad apples" and "rogue advisers" have fallen apart as it becomes evident the problems are systemic, driven by relentless pressure from the top to maximise profits at all costs.
The royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry has shown that dishonesty and sharp practice are endemic in the retail banking and finance sector. But if retail banking, involving direct personal contact with customers, is plagued with fraud and malpractice, what can we say about the wholesale criminality of the larger financial markets for foreign exchange, interest rates and derivatives?
Banking has developed an ingrained culture of dishonesty
Related: Ten years after the financial crash, the timid left should be full of regrets | Larry Elliott
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