Despite the recent howls from the City of London about the new criminal offence of reckless misconduct by senior bank executives, little or nothing has been done to curb the very real and big risks associated with derivatives which were at the heart of the financial crash 6 years ago. It is little understood that […]
Posts Tagged ‘Bankers’
Financial weapons of mass destruction remain UK’s biggest unexploded bomb
Oct 20th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.An inquiry into the banks at last. Great – or is it?
Jul 31st, 2014 by Michael Meacher.A new official inquiry into the banks is announced just when Osborne announces that the banking crisis is finally over. In fact it’s still coming to the boil – how does he manage to keep on coming up with these gags? Just 6 years late, you might think. But that’s the least problem. The real issue is […]
Official: the banks are the new enemy within
May 29th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.One couldn’t put it better: ‘Some prominent firms/banks have been mired in scandals that violate the most basic ethical norms’. ‘Unchecked market fundamentalism can devour the essential social capital’. ‘A fierce industry push-back by the banks’ is blocking much-needed reforms and risks destabilising the global economy. When the high priests of capitalism at the IMF […]
Why are UK regulators so soft on British banks?
May 23rd, 2014 by Michael Meacher.This week the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, was forced by the US Department of Justice to pay a fine of $2.6bn for its secret activities in enabling its US clients to evade US taxes. Ever since 2009 when UBS buckled under pressure from US prosecutors and agreed to pay $0.78bn in fines and to pass […]
Bankers back to business as usual
May 12th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.Two articles of faith in the banking class is that regulation always undermines growth and that financial crises are inevitable. Both these claims are wrong and cannot be supported by the evidence of the last 70 years. On the first, it was the absence of regulation which precipitated the epic 2008-9 breakdown. Starting from 1971 when Nixon […]
We can end the despotism of finance, at a price
Feb 25th, 2014 by Ann Pettifor.After the 2008 global financial crisis and panic, the international banking system very nearly collapsed. In the days after Lehman Brothers failed, panic prevailed. ATMs were on the very brink of denying punters access to their own money. A prominent international banker advised his wife to withdraw all their funds from the banking system. To […]
Animal spirits in the stockmarkets don’t add up to economic recovery in the real world
Jan 4th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.There is an extraordinary combination at the start of 2014 of souped-up credit markets and an anaemic economy. The urge to talk up the economic recovery after so many false starts has turned the heads not only of investors but also of the economic commentators who show the same herd instinct of prophesying long-term continuing […]
Who can you trust in Britain today?
Oct 28th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.The latest evidence that GCHQ in their systematic electronic harvesting of information went far beyond what the law allowed, and were acutely well aware of this, is certainly troubling, but perhaps not surprising. The mood and culture in Britain today in the use of power is push your advantage to the limit and beyond – […]
The real enemy within
Oct 4th, 2013 by Grahame Morris.Bold and radical, Ed Miliband announced his plan to tackle vested interests within the energy market, a promise to fight for ordinary people who for years have complained about the rising cost of gas and electricity. On the same day as Ed Miliband was standing up against the Big Six energy companies, David Cameron and […]
What should bankers be paid?
Jul 24th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.As bankers’ pay + bonuses + long-term incentive schemes + share options + pension largesse begins to head north again as though the biggest financial/economic crash caused by them hadn’t happened and as City bonuses rise above £4bn this year, what does the public believe that bankers should be paid? Remarkably, nobody seems to have […]
