Even the mainstream textbooks
in finance banking and
macro-monetary economics will
show banks
as financial intermediaries.
Now there's a problem with
that. It's clear there is
a high price that we're paying
for this... what
should be a humble
intermediation service
that's being performed and the
salaries that are being paid.
You know famously very high
which is very strange if
they're just intermediaries.
If I could interject here
again I agree 100 percent with
what he said. But we need to
put this in perspective because
all this fearful
dreadful press that we've been
reading about Lloyds banks
Sixteen billion pounds with the
PPI and Deutsche Bank
being fined for this.
Barclays been fined for that
Standard Bank money laundering
and all this stuff this was all
2003 to 2008.
The regulator has stepped
up to the plate in a very big
way and we had that
situation you recall when Bob
Diamond was absolutely stripped
of his rayments in front of the
Treasury select committee when
he was chief executive of
Barclays because the bonuses
paid by this to the staff
was greater than the dividend
paid to the entire bank that
year.
It was appalling.
All of it though was backed or
underwritten if you like by the
taxpayer.
Exactly. That's what's making
people more... That doesn't
happen in London now.
Are you sure about that?
I'm absolutely positive.
I promise you things have
changed. I'm not saying people
aren't still earning pretty
decent money they are.
But it isn't swags of cash
in you know that goes all the
way to the bank.
