Now get this.
after ordering them to make a more "honest" assessment of hidden losses on their balance sheets.
OK so what's a Totally Honest assessment of hidden losses? 100bn? 500bn?
All that this means is that we now have 25bn less money the banks can lend to us. So, on the one hand, the government is standing guarantor for people buying their first home, yet the BOE is reducing the funds available to those mortgages. All that means is that if you don't have a government guarantee, then you won't get a mortgage. No matter how much personal cash you put up. Because the Government will have made the banks accept borrowers with the guarantee, so long as their credit rating is high enough.
Don't get me wrong, this needs to be done. But it is being done in a dishonest way. Get the whole ugly truth out up front, fix it and move on. We can't keep on borrowing, wasting, expanding aid and social programmes; when our banks are effectively crippled by lies about losses.
I clearly recall reading a sidebar article in the FT in January of 2009. It was talking about the bankers "Dance of the Seven Veils". Where as each veil was cast aside the banks black hole of a loss became larger. I'd guess we're at veil 3 and it will take another 50 years to get to veil 7. If the banks and the economy make it that far. Because if Labour gets back in again they'll drive us right over the cliff edge with the throttle wide open.
Perhaps that is what it will take????
Or perhaps we can vote the UKIP in, they can take us out of the EU and then drive us over the cliff with the throttle wide open. At least we'd get something out of it.
