Punishing financial irresponsibility

[Autocar Publicity]

I saw this the other day, relating to the penalty meted out to those responsible for a serious financial crisis in the past. Am I being too harsh, or does this sound like an appropriate response to those responsible for the current problems?

(Thanks to Colin Knox)

[Ferrybridge Flyer]

I couldn't agree more.That should make up for the buggered pensions,savings etc.I can imagine a long queue of volunteers to do the job too.

[60041]

If I thought that Fred the Shred was going to Winchester to have his 'nads removed, I would supply the rusty knife and book a seat in the front row.

[giner]

Surely that's a typo in the headline in that clipping? Unusual though, because on my keyboard the 'W' is nowhere near the 'B'.

[Ferrybridge Flyer]

Very good!

[Autocar Publicity]

Could be it's cockney rhyming slang?

[Ferrybridge Flyer]

Definitely true though!

[60041]

I see Fred the Shred has taken out a court injunction because he wants people to stop calling him a banker, so I suppose we will now have to refer to him as a *anker instead

[v3man]

Can't blame the bankers for the buggered pensions - that was done long before the banking crisis by a certain G Brown who's lying low nowadays.

[kudu]

Undeniable that said G Brown made a modest contribution to the pension problem. But that pales into insignificance compared with the achievements of Fred & Co. You could blame Brown for letting them do it, of course, so long as you don't imply Osborne wouldn't have been even worse.

A brilliant finding from the Chronicle.

Kudu

[Malcolm]

Couldn't agree more. Let me know if anyone needs an executioner and I will gladly PAY THEM to allow me to do the job. (feeling a little beligerent today.........events in my beloved Japan).

Malcolm

[strang steel]

Can't blame the bankers for the buggered pensions - that was done long before the banking crisis by a certain G Brown who's lying low nowadays.

I think the rot set in well before G Browns chancellorship, when in the early 1990s under the Tories it was the "craze" for all companies to take a pension contributions holiday in order to boost their profits and share price.

But lets not let the truth get in the way of good old Murdoch tabloid stories, eh?

[Blink Bonny]

The basic problem is that our whole financial system is based upon debt. Banks borrow from other banks so that they can lend.

When the whole world banking system can be brought to the very verge of collapse by the failure of a tiny rural bank in Texas then there is something fundamentally wrong.

You know what? Nothing's changed.

[brsince78]

The other incontrovertible fact is that we are living too long. You could argue that the finance industry should have seen this coming but regardless of that we all (and that includes those in the public sector whose pensions are being underwritten by the taxpayer) are going to have to work longer, live within our means and learn to save more, to fund our retirement.

[Autocar Publicity]

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/889041-sant ... -set-aside

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/906864-free ... -santander

So you think you'll screw more money from us instead? Guess again.

Being positive, I'd love to be able to set up a High Street bank with conservative values and operated ethically - a traditional Building Society if you like. But, realistically, that's too big a job for me. So I will seek out another bank which will offer me the best deal I can obtain, but that's just damage limitation and wastes my time when I could be earning.

I hate to see people going back on their word, whether it's a personal promise or a breach of contract, which is what I count the above as. As an idealist, I think they ought to be held to account, but as a cynical realist I know they won't be.

It won't even work for Santander. I'll switch my business account and a personal one, so they'll lose my money for good. HMRC will lose some tax revenue from me due to the lost time, which won't help the country. Other people will do the same and there'll be a lot of small businessmen/women who won't have a good word to say about Santander for many years. The loss of reputation will hurt them - though maybe not as much as the NatWest shambles.

It might come across as whingeing, but if people who have been shabbily treated don't complain, others may fall victim to the same thing/sharp practice/scam.

BTW, if any billionaire reading this fancies setting up such a financial institution, I'd very much like to hear from them...