Bankers made 'astonishing mess' - BBC story

Bankers made 'astonishing mess'

Northern Rock was the first bank to show signs of problems ahead
The effects of the continuing banking crisis will be felt for generations, a committee of MPs has warned.

The Treasury committee, in its second report on the crisis, said it had been caused largely by the banks' own reckless behaviour.

"Bankers have made an astonishing mess of the financial system," said committee chairman John McFall.

The MPs supported the various attempts of the government to bail out the banks and to shore up the banking system.

Banking culture

But they criticised banks for increasing their charges and fees to small business borrowers.

The MPs are showing due deference to the governor of the Bank of England. They won't dismiss his view "lightly". But nor do they sign up for it

Robert Peston, BBC business editor


Read Robert's blog
"The culture within parts of British banking has increasingly been one of risk-taking, leading to the meltdown that we have witnessed," said Mr McFall.

The MPs said they favoured greater regulation to protect bank depositors. And they called for further consideration of the idea of separating High Street retail banking from the more commercially risky investment banking.

They supported the government's approach of taking a direct stake in banks that were being rescued with the help of taxpayers' money.



John McFall MP: Prudence 'was missing'

But the MPs said that the details of the bank investments being guaranteed under the recently launched asset protection scheme should be disclosed, with the public being told what the assets are, how much they are worth and how much value they might eventually lose.

"The repercussions of this banking crisis are being felt, and will continue to be felt, by ordinary people for many generations," Mr McFall said.

"Looking to the future, the rebuilding of consumer trust is key."

Small business lending

As well as criticising the behaviour of banks in the past few years leading up to the start of the international financial crisis, the MPs also criticised their current lending polices.

The MPs held several sessions outside London and they were told that, contrary to the claims now being made by banks, many small businesses were finding it very hard to obtain loans, except with much higher charges and fees.


The committee deplores the behaviour of a number of those banks who have received so much public money and behaved in such an insensitive manner

John McFall MP


March mortgage approvals grow 4%
"The committee deplores 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," said Mr McFall.

"There is clearly an unresolved inconsistency between, on the one hand, bankers' assurances that they are increasing their lending and, on the other hand, widespread and clearly sincere complaints that credit is difficult to obtain and increasingly expensive," he said.

The British Bankers Association (BBA) replied that anecdotal evidence from disgruntled bank customers having a hard time in the recession had not given the MPs an accurate picture.

Figures on Friday from the BBA showed that lending by High Street banks to small businesses rose by£271m in March.

"The stock of lending to small businesses is around 5% higher than a year ago and has risen in each of the first three months of 2009, reflecting general banking support and individual bank pledges to make finance available," said BBA statistics director David Dooks.

Deposits by small businesses grew £881m in March.

Deposit protection

One organisation praised by the MPs was the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The committee said the scheme had developed a number of "innovative solutions" to deal with the collapse of several banks in the UK.

But the MPs said banks should make it clear to their customers exactly which of their subsidiaries carried separate deposit protection.

And they recommended that each brand name run by a bank should have a separate banking licence, which would trigger such cover.

The committee also appears to be showing due deference to the governor of the Bank of England, says BBC business editor Robert Peston.

They will not dismiss his view that a separation of retail from investment banking functions is very attractive, but nor do they sign up for it, our correspondent says. "

It seems incredible that these so called bankers, behaved in such a reckless manner with money which they treated like Monopoly Money. It seems to have been a game to them - some game! It appears they borrowed cash without permission, speculated on it, tried to replace it, or speculated further on the non-existant profits. It now seems that the worst reckless souls had got into a position to do this with NO BANKING qualififications whatsoever. That seems like asking a joiner to do an appendix op! A doctor is trained to do that; a joiner is'nt and a doctor probably could not make a cupboard as he is'nt trained.

Why did the Banks get into such a position? And why are they getting off with the ridiculous bonuses for their reckless behaviour?

The Scottish Budget Pantomine!

And at last the pantomine is over - the Scottish Budget has been passed. But was all that posturing and capering really necessary?
Did it really show any of the so-called opposition parties in a good light? It seems they have not come to terms with minority government.
But take a look a what this means for Scotland:-
"
Now approved, the Scottish Budget will deliver: -
- Help for households to beat the credit crunch, providing extra funding for councils to freeze the Council Tax for another year.
- Another cut in the cost of single prescriptions from April, down from £5 to £4... with 12-month pre-payment certificates cut by £10 to £38.
- Business rates for 120,000 small businesses will be abolished, helping shops and local firms cut costs and protect jobs in these tough times.
- £230 million of accelerated infrastructure spending to keep the Scottish economy moving and support 4,700 jobs. - Extra funds to help train 1,000 additional police officers, to put more bobbies on the beat and improve safety on our streets.
- £15 million to help provide home insulation for 90,000 homes - targeted on those most in need. - £16 million to recruit 18,500 new apprentices. PLUS: - - £300 million more for the NHS. - £70 million more to invest in affordable housing. - £60 million more for town centre renewal. - £40 million more in funding for free personal care for the elderly.
- A total of £1.8 billion in additional expenditure - securing a total of 35,000 jobs!"

Now, if only, if only, every bawbee raised in Scotland remained in Scotland to be used according to Scottish priorities, for Scottish people! Instead we've got a finite 'grant', patronisingly given by Westminster.

From the BBC Site -Trump teed up for a Fight

Trump teed up for a fight
Following the Scottish Government's decision to call in Donald Trump's application for a golf resort in Aberdeenshire, BBC Scotland's Colin Wight travelled to Trump Tower in New York for an exclusive interview with the tycoon.

Mr Trump says people fight him because of who he is
Interview in full
Donald Trump is excited.
He's in his office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower on New York's Fifth Avenue and the phones are ringing. Share prices are plummeting.
This, he says with relish, is a challenge. And say what you like about Trump, the man loves a fight.
All this and it's his third wedding anniversary to third wife Melania.
So with more than enough going on in Trumpworld is he still happy to discuss golf? Sure, he's always happy to discuss golf.
I'm in New York to meet The Donald and see what he's provided for golfers here.
At Westchester in the village of Briarcliff Manor, less than an hour's drive away upstate, members include Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood and former president Bill Clinton.
Their names are on their lockers. Membership, which costs $350,000, is not cheap.
Even with the healthy exchange rate, that's a big-time commitment to a good walk spoiled.
The 13th hole here is the most expensive in the United States. It boasts two waterfalls and cost $7m.
'Beautiful and elegant'
The course is closed over the winter, but on the coldest day so far they switch the waterfalls on - using 5,000 gallons a minute. Trump is keen to impress.
He's very happy to discuss his plans for the Menie Estate on the Aberdeenshire coast.
It will, he says, be one of the most beautiful jobs of its kind anywhere in the world. It will top everything else and won't be done in an "atrocious" way. It will be done in a "beautiful and elegant way".
But others are not so sure - especially environmentalists and some local residents.
Trump wants to build two courses, a 450-bedroom hotel, 950 holiday homes and 500 residential units. Half of the championship course will be on a site of special scientific interest.

Jack Nicholson is a member of one of Mr Trump's exclusive clubs
Trump reveals that he originally wanted at least twice as much housing on the 1,500 acre site, but decided against it.
But he insists the environmental work required means he does need the housing to pay for it - otherwise, he says, he'd "lose his shirt".
On public access, he says he will obey the laws of Scotland.
Will it be a closed, gated community? Not decided yet. That will depend on the market.
But despite all the bluster, all the hyperbole, Trump still seems genuinely hurt at the rejection of his plans by Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure committee.
He can't understand why a project which he claims is so popular came to be thrown out by what he calls "a little roadblock".
He claims he's the real environmentalist.
And he denies he's only in it to line his own pockets, arguing that the jobs will be skilled and all that will work its way back into the local economy.
He admires the first minister, calling Alex Salmond "an amazing man".
He says the Scottish Government did a "great service" in calling in the application.
End result
Trump says his team did nothing inappropriate and amazingly he's honoured by the parliamentary inquiry into the handling of the affair. The reason? It may bring change and help Scotland.
Donald Trump, like everyone else, is still awaiting a final decision on Menie. But he has no plans to walk away unless the decision is made for him.
The end result, he says, will be worth all the effort - a "magnificent and majestic" development.
He knows some people fight him simply because he is Donald Trump.
But, he says, that's also why others support him - and he claims that sometimes even his one-time enemies later join his clubs.
Will it ever happen in Scotland? Who knows, he hopes so.
"Now, if you don't mind," he says, "I have a few calls to make."
I bet, and let's hope he remembered the anniversary card.

Trump -eye View and Is this what is right?

The shananigans around this 'development' continue! Just why is this dubious entrepeneur so keen to get his paws on this bit of Scotland. It cannot be just because his Mum hails from here surely.



Let us appraise the situation. The plan evolved from wee Joke McConnell pointing out about the estate at Menie in Aberdeenshire. A coastal site, loads of dunes, ideal golf course area, but it also contains a site of Special Scientific Interest. Now dunes, golf courses and special sites can co-exist remarkably well with give and take on all sides, but this development took on a life of its own. Two golf courses, -then an enormous hotel which from the artists impression looked like a refugee from Brigadoon, -then holiday homes and- then executive houses - and no sign of the fact that the area was NOT scheduled for housing development and that the SSI would be destroyed in 'stabilising' the dunes. It was all or nothing with threats of complete withdrawal if consent refused. In the whaup's book that amounts to bullying.



Alarm bells were ringing loud and clear. The plans in the process had to go to the local authority, which is Aberdeenshire who have always had rather an unique way of dealing with planning. Now you would expect them to be aware of the suitability of this site for development as after all they will ultimately be responsible for the roads, schooling, sewage, water supply and so on - in fact the basics and also have a pretty shrewd idea of the ground conditions and the suitability for building a scheme like this.



Right let's step away from Aberdeenshire and consider the sort of site this is. It is adjacent to the North Sea, well known for its somewhat chilly temperature and bracing winds. The dunes are active - that means they are moving, although a certain degree of sympathetic stabilising has taken place. By that it means working with the natural processes and not trying to control them. Dunes tend to develop a protective layer to the land behind which because it is so near the sea tends to have a high water table. In other words it is a bit soggy and not well-drained with peaty zones. Not the sort of place to be attempting to build houses really as water-tables do tend to fluctuate with time and the amount of precipitation. That is without considering the SSI status.



Now step back again and look at some of the recent statements.

• The sea level in the Med has risen - and it is noticeable. Some getting a bit bothered about it.


• Giant's Causeway is under threat as the sea level rises - up to a metre this century. The likely effects are rather unpleasant reading.


• In November 2007 a storm surge raced south down the North Sea - fortunately the sea defences held this time, but there are many worried faces over this and at sea things were very unpleasant. These surge events are expected to increase.

Now, the whaup knows of no way that the North Sea is going to be immune from this rise in sea level. A rise in sea level means a rise in the level to which the rivers flowing towards this base level which will ricochet upstream. That means increased likelihood of flooding on the Dee, the Don, the Ythan, the Deveron and so on as well as the smaller burns. Wet land is going to get wetter. And with higher sea levels, the water table is also going to rise, with associated problems. Bluntly, saturated land is more prone to flooding.

Now back to Menie. The site is already somewhat waterlogged.

What will happen to the dunes with rising sea levels?

What about the burns finding that base level is changing?

What about a rising water table?

What will happen if a storm surge hits this coast?

Sounds like an ideal place for a housing development to you?

Let us hope that the scrutineers from the Scottish Government take these questions on board.

The Scots Independent Newspaper Online - The Flag in the Wind

The Scots Independent Newspaper Online - The Flag in the Wind

This is a worth while website to visit. This last wee while of manoevre and jiggling with very little about what is best for Scotland, but a great deal about what is best for inflated egos, needs this step back and looked at from afar.

It is not exactly a new newspaper either having been around as long as the Scottish National Party, although the website is a recent addition.

Another thing to keep feet on the ground is 'Blether with Brian' on the BBC Scotland website under Scottish Politics

Want to Lobby the First Minister?

Want to lobby the First Minister? Send a £10,000 cheque to the SNPTHE SNP was last night plunged into a cash-for-access row after a Scotland on Sunday investigation revealed the party is selling time with First Minister Alex Salmond and senior ministers in return for payments worth thousands of pounds.
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1395292007

Want to get mad?

This journalist shows an ignorance and arrogance that is quite unbelievable! How he thinks that sponsoring an event at a Conference equates to lobbying is ridiculous. Every conference or event relies on sponsorship today and the purpose of it is to allow various individuals to set out their stall to the delegates at the event. ie an event sponsored by windfarms for example, is to permit the delegates to learn more about windfarms. Speakers can include politicians who may put the party's point of view on the matter. I seem to remember seeing sponsorship of fringe events at the Conferences of every political party, which neither endorses said product/viewpoint nor disagrees with it. It is for information only and if someone should stop by to speak, that is the eqivalent of looking at the goods in a shop window!

Why imply that this is something unacceptable? Every party does it and it is all open.

As for Honours for cash - it is not over as there is still a lot to be answered there. The CPS felt there was not enough to stand up in Court. Interpret that as the Labour Lawyers had been at work smudging and covering! There's more there yet.

Post Script

Been quite a few comments out and about today re this article and the most common statement was bad journalism that would be bad in a tabloid. Never thought that ANY Scotsman publication would ever be described in this way, by folk who do not normally explode at this sort of paper. Something to be kicked into the gutter for de-composing - a disgraceful piece of work, totally lacking in decent research, never mind integrity.

Scotsman.com News - Scotland - Experts uncover Orkney's new Skara Brae and the great wall that separated living from dead

Scotsman.com News - Scotland - Experts uncover Orkney's new Skara Brae and the great wall that separated living from dead

This is fascinating news from the land of my forebears where I feel so at home. What else is about to be revealed from this area?