Dally wrote:
No, it took down a very large bank. The government could have stepped in to save HBoS without encouraging Lloyds to go down with the ship.
It only weakened, not "took down", a very large bank that was itself in grave danger of going tits up. The price of a guarantee of government support was they take on HBoS. Lloyds TSB blinked first.
I doubt the directors of HBoS will ever be tried in any criminal court, simply because I doubt they broke any laws.
What I do believe should come from the ashes of the banking crisis is a register of bankers and finance "experts". Then if they are found to have fooked up in future, they should have their licence revoked and never be able to operate in financial services again.
Other professions, many of them remunerated far less than bankers, must join a professional body and swear to uphold certain standards. A surgeon would be struck off if found to operate in a reckless manner. At worst, a surgeon could only ruin one life at a time. Bankers have the capability to ruin whole economies.
