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Insights from the UK and beyond
from James Saft:
The unbelievable mercy of UK banks
James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
What do you call an entire economy which sweeps its insolvencies under the carpet and hopes that something will turn up?
Britain.
An investigation by the Bank of England, reported in its Financial Stability Report released on Friday, found widespread evidence that banks are extending loan forbearance to weakened borrowers.
And because loans in forbearance often aren't classified as impaired, banks may be skimping on loan provisions, giving a deceptively flattering account of their capital position and health.
Forbearance, usually some form of break given to a borrower such as extending the term or making the loan interest-only, is offered to some borrowers when they miss a payment or violate part of the loan agreement.
Is Barclays paying its bankers too much?
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Barclays top-two — Chief Executive John Varley and President Bob Diamond — declined their 2009 bonus for the second year in a row, although the bank is paying the 23,000 staff at its investment bank £191,000 per head on average. The bank had a record year, but said all bonuses to its Executive Committee would be deferred, as it reacts to widespread criticism on bankers’ pay.
Have your say. Take our poll and leave us a comment.
Do you think Bob Diamond and John Varley did the right thing in declining their bonuses?
What do you think of the bank charges ruling?
Banks have won a two-year court battle, dealing a major blow to hundreds of thousands of customers seeking to claim back billions of pounds of what they say are unfair overdraft charges.
The new Supreme Court found that the Office of Fair Trading cannot use customer protection rules to investigate whether the fees were levied unfairly.
Too big to fail? Guerrilla central banking and the last resort
Deciding it was safe to come clean because banks are now on a more even keel and the worst of the credit crisis is behind us, the Bank of England has told the nation that at the height of the turmoil it secretly lent Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS a colossal £62 billion, which is more than the entire British defence budget.
Both banks faced the imminent closure of high street cash machines and the curtailment of normal banking operations across the country.
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The Wall
