Can the UK taxpayer actually benefit from the bank sector bailout?
The government has announced the creation of a new company managed by Sir Philip Hampton which will be in sole charge of the government's various bank shareholdings and direct banking operations. Not only is there a need to ensure the shareholdings in UK banks are administered on an arms length basis but there is also a need to insure that taxpayers stand as good a chance as possible of receiving a return in due course.
The government has already come under severe pressure because of the way Northern Rock has been run under state control whereby we have seen a massive increase in the number of repossessions, heard about the stronger customers move elsewhere, something which has left the UK taxpayer with the rump of mortgages which no other bank would take on. Even though we saw the headlines suggesting that the Northern Rock loan would be paid back ahead of time this situation has gone very quiet and it appears the bank may be falling behind on the initial forecast for repayment of the loan.
However, the government is sure to come under renewed pressure for the number of high-profile and high earning individuals brought in to manage state owned operations and shareholdings.
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