Gordon Brown is demanding a new age of sobriety in British banking, calling for the return of "prudent", old-fashioned high street banks.
Writing in The Observer, the prime minister said he wants people to save longer before buying a home and is considering curbs on 100% mortgages.
He also said banks should not dabble in complex international investments.
The funny thing is, I don't recall him saying this when he was chancellor. In fact I recall that he was openly critical of other European banking systems for their strict regulation and inflexibility.
And I think he needs to explain what he means by "dabbling" in complex international investments. Cross-currency swaps? Export-credit guarantees? Structured trade finance? Or is he trying to micromanage the banks by rules and legislation?
That is the sure fire way to get the London financial markets to move offshore. Well at least the women dress better in Paris.
2 comments:
U turn if you want to this fool does flip flops.
1. My favourite uncle had a coal round, which depended on his horse and cart. Unluckily, his surplus of revenue over costs went on racehorses that were much less reliable than his carthorse. When the carthorse died, in the absence of people to give him credit, his business ended. He then became a labourer, still needing to work into his 80’s because he was short of national insurance entitlements. I think a lot of my uncle these days.
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