Do you trust the government to run the UK banking sector?
The UK government will soon have controlling stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds bank as well as full ownership of the Bradford & Bingley mortgage book and Northern Rock as a whole. While in many ways the UK authorities have no choice but to take substantial stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank as well as taking over Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock, do you trust the UK government to effectively control a large section of the UK banking sector?
The signals from the UK government have been very mixed over the last few months with Northern Rock apparently exiting the mortgage market only to return with a £14 billion budget over the last couple of weeks. There has been little or no mention of the Bradford & Bingley mortgage book and Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank continue to pay out substantial bonuses to employees even know they are effectively under government control. Can the government really control these massive beasts?
There are concerns that the UK government could run into both competition and organisational issues regarding its increasing exposure to the UK banking sector. Let's not forget that the UK government had its own role to play in the demise of the UK economy, the worldwide economy and the UK banking sector. Their track record is not as impressive as they might have you believe!
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