SOME BANKERS MUST GO TO PRISON

Not all bankers are the greedy reckless fucking bastards who screwed the whole world with their oh so predictable failing gambling policies.

But there are some who do fall into that category, and it is they who must go to prison. The traders on the floor are the equivalent to the Nazi soldiers, simply taking orders but those with some nouse could have foreseen the wreckage on the beach.

No it's not the traders.

It's not all the members of the board who gave the nod to implement the policies.

But there are a few board members of a particular subset of very large banks who need some exercise doing the perp walk.

Stephen King of HSBC says the banks need to apologise and improve their PR to reconnect with the public. Not good enough.

Long prison sentences with lots of community service looking after sick old people, the ultimate targets of their gambling, would only begin to repay the world for the huge distress that their policies have brought to this world.

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From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8293981.stm


HSBC boss says banks owe apology

The entire banking industry "owes the real world an apology", the chairman of HSBC has said.

Stephen Green told BBC World Business Report that a change in culture was needed to improve the public's perception of bankers.

He also said that London was secure as a major financial centre, but would lose market share as Asia developed.

Last month, HSBC announced that its chief executive Michael Geoghan would move to Hong Kong from London.

But Mr Green said the bank's decision did not mean it was turning its back on London.

"Two-thirds of our business is in Asia. It's where we think the centre of gravity of the world's economy is shifting," he said.

'Learn the lessons'

Mr Green, in Istanbul for the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, admitted the banking industry collectively owed the world an apology for the financial crisis.

"It also owes the real world a commitment to learn the lessons. Some of them are about governance and ethics and culture within the industry," he said.

"You can't do all this simply by rules and regulations."

However, commenting on increased regulations for banks, Mr Green said it was "inevitable" that regulators as well as the banks themselves could learn from the crisis.

He added that the industry needed to "pay much more attention to liquidity" than it had done previously.

On Monday, the Financial Services Authority in the UK published new rules governing funding standards at banks and building societies, stating that banks should hold more assets that were truly liquid, such as government bonds.