We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Debate House Prices


In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non MoneySaving matters are no longer permitted. This includes wider debates about general house prices, the economy and politics. As a result, we have taken the decision to keep this board permanently closed, but it remains viewable for users who may find some useful information in it. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Campaign for debt free money, stable house prices, pension still worth something...

189101113

Comments

  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    BillJones wrote: »
    If you want to compare the cost and benefits of a given sector, then of course you need to consider both sides of the equation.

    The cost of £133bn is a fraction of what the bank bailouts cost the economy as a whole. That's before we get on to moral hazard and the cost of the future bailouts that will eventuate as a result.

    You want to look at the whole of the revenue side (not risk adjusted) and ignore the largest parts of the cost side. If you do that then the bank bailouts are a fantastic idea.

    The fact is that bank executives have admitted to countless frauds, aided and abetted by hundreds of bank managers. So why have these people been allowed to use shareholders' money, largely earned off the back of bailouts paid for by ordinary taxpayers, to escape gaol? It's a disgrace.
  • Imagine.... A manifesto for the up coming general election..

    Banking reform
    Out of EU
    Controlled immigration
    Reform NHS
    Nationalise energy firms
    Fix the pot holes in roads
    Petrol price control
    House of Commons reform, more accountability and recall for sacking
    Less meddling with the education system
    Less red tape for small business
    More house building
    More pension reform

    What's the bet that UKIP add some or all of these to their manifesto?....

    Would these pledges win?
    Peace.
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Imagine.... A manifesto for the up coming general election..

    Banking reform
    Out of EU
    Controlled immigration
    Reform NHS
    Nationalise energy firms
    Fix the pot holes in roads
    Petrol price control
    House of Commons reform, more accountability and recall for sacking
    Less meddling with the education system
    Less red tape for small business
    More house building
    More pension reform

    What's the bet that UKIP add some or all of these to their manifesto?....

    Would these pledges win?

    The problem enacting these changes is that you get less GDP and more spending. That's a bad combination:

    Banking reform - Less GDP (probably)
    Out of EU - Much less GDP
    Controlled immigration - Less GDP
    Reform NHS - More spending (probably)
    Nationalise energy firms - Less GDP + more spending
    Fix the pot holes in roads - more spending
    Petrol price control - more spending + less GDP
    House of Commons reform, more accountability and recall for sacking - immaterial financially
    Less meddling with the education system - less spending
    Less red tape for small business - more GDP + less spending (easier said than done though)
    More house building - more GDP
    More pension reform - more spending (probably)


    Empty promises definitely won't win you a second term.
  • BillJones
    BillJones Posts: 2,187 Forumite
    Generali wrote: »
    The fact is that bank executives have admitted to countless frauds.

    The problem for this argument, of course, is that you just made that bit up, and then stuck "The fact is" in front of it.

    In most cases of alleged wrongdoing, people were acting in line with the regulator's guidance, and only turned out to be doing "wrong" after the regulator decided to change the rules.

    A mortgage trader in Lehman running too much risk was being reckless, especially as it turns out that the guys at DB, Merrill etc. were doing the same, but there was probably no fraud involved. There was short-termism, greed, poor goal-setting, and lack of oversight, but not any obvious fraud.

    Banks understanding that you don't fight the regulator, and accepting fines is not the same as admitting to fraud.
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    BillJones wrote: »
    The problem for this argument, of course, is that you just made that bit up, and then stuck "The fact is" in front of it.

    In most cases of alleged wrongdoing, people were acting in line with the regulator's guidance, and only turned out to be doing "wrong" after the regulator decided to change the rules.

    A mortgage trader in Lehman running too much risk was being reckless, especially as it turns out that the guys at DB, Merrill etc. were doing the same, but there was probably no fraud involved. There was short-termism, greed, poor goal-setting, and lack of oversight, but not any obvious fraud.

    Banks understanding that you don't fight the regulator, and accepting fines is not the same as admitting to fraud.

    So Goldman Sachs didn't commit fraud? Citibank didn't commit fraud?

    Both sold financial products that were deliberately designed to mislead, were fraudulent and have subsequently settled.

    In addition there were the Robo-Signers where the banks deliberately lied to the courts to reduce costs.

    Then there are the more prosaic things like PPI mis-selling.

    If the banks weren't acting fraudulently then they have failed in their fiduciary duty to their owners. You can't use shareholders' money just to make the possibility of gaol go away. Either the bankers have acted illegally in settling or have acted illegally and had to settle. There is no other possible conclusion.
  • BillJones

    Would be very interesting to hear what you think of the posts in reply to your defence of the bankers.....

    Are you still defending the banks?.... and if you are a rates trader probably on a salary of more than 100k per yr.... what are you bothering to post here? You must be very busy with 12 hr days and sleeping at the office?
    Peace.
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
    Generali wrote: »
    So Goldman Sachs didn't commit fraud? Citibank didn't commit fraud?

    Both sold financial products that were deliberately designed to mislead, were fraudulent and have subsequently settled....

    They are both US banks.
    Generali wrote: »
    ....In addition there were the Robo-Signers where the banks deliberately lied to the courts to reduce costs....

    Again, I think that's a US thing.
    Generali wrote: »
    ...Then there are the more prosaic things like PPI mis-selling. ...

    Ah, now we're bank on home ground.
    Generali wrote: »
    ...If the banks weren't acting fraudulently then they have failed in their fiduciary duty to their owners. You can't use shareholders' money just to make the possibility of gaol go away. Either the bankers have acted illegally in settling or have acted illegally and had to settle. There is no other possible conclusion.

    There was certainly a heap big pile of naughtiness being committed from fiddling LIBOR rates, to downright fradulent balance sheet manipulation, depending on the jurisdiction involved. I'm not that sure that making wide-sweeping generalisations is however, necessarily the way forwards.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    BillJones wrote: »
    The problem for this argument, of course, is that you just made that bit up, and then stuck "The fact is" in front of it.

    In most cases of alleged wrongdoing, people were acting in line with the regulator's guidance, and only turned out to be doing "wrong" after the regulator decided to change the rules.

    A mortgage trader in Lehman running too much risk was being reckless, especially as it turns out that the guys at DB, Merrill etc. were doing the same, but there was probably no fraud involved. There was short-termism, greed, poor goal-setting, and lack of oversight, but not any obvious fraud.

    Banks understanding that you don't fight the regulator, and accepting fines is not the same as admitting to fraud.


    And to cap it all. We now get revelations about Barclays "Dark Pool". Where the super rich trade with each other off piste so to speak. Outside of any regulatory exchange.

    Jenkins promised so much to clean up the act of Barclays. Yet this happened on his watch. Banking is currently extremely unreputable.

    Despite the protests of the French Government. Seems as if there's no defence.

    "US authorities will announce early next week that French banking giant BNP Paribas has agreed to pay an $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine for allegedly violating sanctions rules. "

    What's next? Who is going to trust a banker at the current time. When the whole ethos appears to be self centred and socially out of touch.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    And to cap it all. We now get revelations about Barclays "Dark Pool". Where the super rich trade with each other off piste so to speak. Outside of any regulatory exchange.

    Jenkins promised so much to clean up the act of Barclays. Yet this happened on his watch. Banking is currently extremely unreputable.

    Despite the protests of the French Government. Seems as if there's no defence.

    "US authorities will announce early next week that French banking giant BNP Paribas has agreed to pay an $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine for allegedly violating sanctions rules. "

    What's next? Who is going to trust a banker at the current time. When the whole ethos appears to be self centred and socially out of touch.

    Jenkins has spent his entire career within Barclays
    he reached a very senior position before he was appointed CEO

    it is inconceivable he didn't know what was going on a Barclays even if he didn't know every single detail.

    although his 'words' may tell one story, all his actions show he is an unreconstructed banker.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    CLAPTON wrote: »
    Jenkins has spent his entire career within Barclays
    he reached a very senior position before he was appointed CEO

    it is inconceivable he didn't know what was going on a Barclays even if he didn't know every single detail.

    although his 'words' may tell one story, all his actions show he is an unreconstructed banker.

    Nobody works totally alone in a large Corporation. He'll have his trusted Lieutenants reporting back.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.5K Life & Family
  • 259.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.