Er, some questions about the bank rescue
As the detail of the potential £50bn rescue package for UK banks is mulled over I realise I am now invested and I’m pretty sure I want some answers to some key questions.
Firstly, (and this is prompted by a colleague on his blog Shareholder Values) the government may invest in the banks but it looks like the state will not be the most senior creditor in the event of a bank going belly up. Who’s ahead of us and why is the investment taking a subordinate position?
Secondly, I do hope the government is looking very closely at the capital requirements for banks under the current regulation. Though it is not clear whether civil servants will be taking positions on the banks’ boards, if they do I wonder if they would care to take up seats on the audit committees. I wonder too whether the government will ask the profession to look again at the way it audits banks. Food for thought.