Bailed out banks acting up
June 1, 2009 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Earlier this month a number of MPs expressed their concern over how many of the leading UK banks that have been bailed out with the use of taxpayers’ money are acting terribly in the current recession.
The MPs accused the banks of being too greedy, and said that many of those that had managed to weather then financial crisis only due to money received by taxpayer had responded by refusing to give private companies the credit that they needed to also weather then recession.
The MPs went on to say that banks had made all sorts of promises prior to receiving bail out money in the billions of pounds, but that their failure to now live up to these promises meant that the British economy was doomed and public finances were left in a mess.
The report came from the Treasury Select Committee, and with people already having been outraged at how the financial crisis is being dealt with by the government has caused even more upset amongst those that feel that too little is being done.
MPs stated: ‘We deplore the behaviour of a number of those banks who have received so much public money and behaved in such an insensitive manner, particularly to established customers. Bankers have made an astonishing mess of the financial system.’
The chairman of the committee added: ‘The public must be assured that the banks face a quid pro quo in return for Government money – and have not received a cost-free bail-out, especially as it is the public who are now feeling the sharp end of the crisis.’
There is also concern that whilst bonus levels for banking officials have fallen since last year they are still high, with Vince Cable from the Liberal Democrats stating: ‘These figures show a complete lack of awareness in the City of the extent of the crisis, their role in creating it – and the extent to which they are ultimately answerable to the taxpayer. It would be outrageous if taxpayer-supported institutions are handing out large bonuses, particularly at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs.’
Tags: List of banks in the United Kingdom, Liberal Democrat, quid, Politics, banks, Treasury Select Committee, lack
