We need you, Andrew Tyrie. Without you, the bankers will get away with it
A new year and, for bankers, it seems, a new regime. Not a tough new rule book which would help 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, have deprived the real 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...