Tuesday 20 October 2009

Banks Take the Money and Prosper

Press Assoc.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King launched an attack on the banking industry's failure to reform despite "breathtaking" levels of taxpayer support.
Despite almost £1 trillion spent propping up banks, Mr King said: "To paraphrase a great wartime leader, never in the field of financial endeavour has so much money been owed by so few to so many. And, one might add, so far with little real reform."

He said the the "massive support" to the global banking sector was "necessary to avert economic disaster" but warned it had created "possibly the biggest moral hazard in history". His comments came as City firms prepare for bumper bonus payouts a year on from the near-meltdown, helped by rising stock markets and a lack of competition.

A report said the City was expecting a 50% rise in annual bonuses to £6 billion.

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