Why are the brains of the UK banking sector being victimised?
As we hear news that Huibert Boumeester, one of the brains behind the Royal Bank of Scotland acquisition of ABN Amro, has disappeared there are now significant concerns about other leading figures in the UK banking sector. The UK government, the regulators and many consumers and investors have heaped scorn on the likes of Sir Fred Goodwin over the last few months after the collapse of the UK banking system. But is it fair to victimise these leading figures?
It is very easy to forget that while the UK government in particular has been very vocal in its criticism of UK banking experts from the past, the UK Treasury has taken in hundreds of millions if not billions of pounds in taxation from the sector and from bonuses paid to sector employs over many decades. This is part of the reason why the UK budget is under so much pressure although this is rarely discussed by the government in public.
It is also very easy to forget that many of the financial instruments which we take for granted today only materialised over the years because of calculated risks taken by banking brains around the world. If, as governments around the world would like, significant restrictions are placed upon the financial sector will we see a reduction in innovative ideas from banking employees. Is this really what we want for the future?
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