The Great Debate UK
Why trust is the new currency for banks
- Robert Phillips is UK CEO of Edelman, a public relations firm. The opinions expressed are his own. -
Trust is an entry which does not appear on a bank’s balance sheet. As an important asset, perhaps it should.
As banks struggle to get back to their feet, however, another deficit would not be welcome. According to Edelman’s 10th annual Trust Barometer, published last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, trust in the UK banking sector has fallen to an all time low, plummeting to just 21 percent, down from 41 percent in 2007.
The UK banks are by no means alone: trust in U.S. banks fell from 68 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2010 as the banking giants on Wall Street ran into a new wave of criticism from Main Street.
It’s all over: The banks have won
- Laurence Copeland is a professor of finance at Cardiff University Business School and a co-author of “Verdict on the Crash” published by the Institute of Economic Affairs. The opinions expressed are his own. -
There is so much talk of a new regulatory framework for the financial sector, anyone would think it was an important issue.
from Ask...:
Money, money everywhere …except in your pocket?
There's lots of money sloshing around the financial system these days. The Federal Reserve has established a target range of 0-0.25 percent for its key rate, bringing it closer to unconventional action to lift the economy out of a year-long recession.
From Washington, the first package aimed at rescuing the credit crisis-hit banking sector amounted to $700 billion. Treasury can use only half of that amount and it has already pledged all but $15 billion of it. The Senate has refused to pass a $14 billion rescue package for Detroit's three major car companies last week, leaving it in the hands of the Bush administration to work out a deal.
