All your Banks are belong to us

[Fantic SuperT]

1) Where has the government bail-out money come from?
2) What would it take to break the Bank of England?

[Schermerhorn]

The banks work like this, in very simple terms.

They f*ck up, we bail them out.

They carry on operating and carry on ripping us off.

[Simpo Two]

What happened to corporate liability? Shouldn't the fattest cats be made to sell a few of their luxury homes to pay for the mess?

[Mc Lovin]

Simpo Two said:

What happened to corporate liability? Shouldn't the fattest cats be made to sell a few of their luxury homes to pay for the mess?

Dont be silly

[MitchT]

If the government buys the banks then we, the taxpayers, own the banks. With that in mind, how do I go about claiming my six-figure salary, my seven-figure bonus and my dividends?

[Harry Flashman]

Simpo Two said:

What happened to corporate liability? Shouldn't the fattest cats be made to sell a few of their luxury homes to pay for the mess?

Wouldn't even touch the sides of the sort of liabilities we're talking about.

These people should of course be made accountable where they were negligent or dishonest with their policies; but don't think that will really help in any meaningful financial sense.

[Neil_H]

How are you gentlemen!

You are on the way to destruction.




Ha ha ha ha ha.

[plg101]

Fantic SuperT said:

1) Where has the government bail-out money come from?
2) What would it take to break the Bank of England?

1) Extension of Public Spending Borrowing (commonly measured as % of GDP)

2) Not sure you can. I don't think a central bank can "fail" as technically they can keep printing more and more money (yes leading to hyper inflation, etc) and a country can become effectively bankrupt (eg Zimbabwe) where the currency has no real value either in or out of the country, but technically they don't break...

Though I might be wrong on both....

Edited by plg101 on Monday 13th October 12:52

[Fantic SuperT]

plg101 said:

Fantic SuperT said:

1) Where has the government bail-out money come from?
2) What would it take to break the Bank of England?

1) Extension of Public Spending Borrowing (commonly measured as % of GDP)

2) Not sure you can. I don't think a central bank can "fail" as technically they can keep printing more and more money (yes leading to hyper inflation, etc) and a country can become effectively bankrupt (eg Zimbabwe) where the currency has no real value either in or out of the country, but technically they don't break...

Though I might be wrong on both....

Edited by plg101 on Monday 13th October 12:52

So if I've got this right: To extend public borrowing, the government sells some debt obligations (bonds?) and someone somewhere has got the billions needed to pay for those bonds. Is there an unlimited supply of those lenders or would they ever get worried the UK government is going to default on the debt (the way the Brazilians, Argentines and Russians did in the past)?

[Fittster]

plg101 said:

2) Not sure you can. I don't think a central bank can "fail" as technically they can keep printing more and more money (yes leading to hyper inflation, etc) and a country can become effectively bankrupt (eg Zimbabwe) where the currency has no real value either in or out of the country, but technically they don't break...

Couldn't the US Federal Reserve fail? It's not part of the US government, so if the politicians found somewhere else to borrow or refused to pay wouldn't it be bust?

Edited by Fittster on Monday 13th October 13:00

[Yugguy]

The missus and the nipper were watching Mary Poppins yesterday, and there's a scene in a bank during which they break into song.

The chorus went...

"If the banks stand, England stands. If the banks fall, England falls."

[VladTheDad]

There is a lot of cr@p being talked at the moment. Usually along the lines of "why should I as a tax payer bail out these city fat cats?". The problem is that no one is bailing out rich individuals, the government is trying to save the economic fabic and banking infrastructure of the country. It has an impact on every industry and every individual. So, unless you are an unemployed benefit sponger you should want the banking industry to recover, even if the price is high.

[plg101]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_sector_borrowi...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_sector_net_cas...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_debt

Not normally a fan of wikipedia, but this is a good starting point....

[james_tigerwoods]

So - The govt bails out the banks to "save our economy" and are lauded by people and some newspapers as saving us all.

But the money come from tax hikes - non? Funny how that's being kept quiet.

How long can tax rises be put off for?

[Zod]

Simpo Two said:

What happened to corporate liability? Shouldn't the fattest cats be made to sell a few of their luxury homes to pay for the mess?

Er, that's the point of incorporation: the company is liable, not the shareholders or directors (although directors can be liable in other ways).

[fadeaway]

Fantic SuperT said:

plg101 said:

Fantic SuperT said:

1) Where has the government bail-out money come from?
2) What would it take to break the Bank of England?

1) Extension of Public Spending Borrowing (commonly measured as % of GDP)

2) Not sure you can. I don't think a central bank can "fail" as technically they can keep printing more and more money (yes leading to hyper inflation, etc) and a country can become effectively bankrupt (eg Zimbabwe) where the currency has no real value either in or out of the country, but technically they don't break...

Though I might be wrong on both....

Edited by plg101 on Monday 13th October 12:52

So if I've got this right: To extend public borrowing, the government sells some debt obligations (bonds?) and someone somewhere has got the billions needed to pay for those bonds. Is there an unlimited supply of those lenders or would they ever get worried the UK government is going to default on the debt (the way the Brazilians, Argentines and Russians did in the past)?

The strengh of government bonds depend on the trust/confidence you have in them. Britain has never defaulted on a bond. Ever. That's since we issued the very first ones in 1693. You don't get a better "credit history" than that

Obvouisly there isn't an unlimited supply of lenders. I assume you alter the duration and interest rate of the bonds so that you can sell enough of them.

[evoesque]

I heard on the radio this morning that the Govt are basically 'printing more money'.

Fine, but does this not lead to problems with inflation?

[Morningside]

I am going to deposit some cash into my bank, should I run a credit check on them?

[Fittster]

VladTheDad said:

There is a lot of cr@p being talked at the moment. Usually along the lines of "why should I as a tax payer bail out these city fat cats?". The problem is that no one is bailing out rich individuals, the government is trying to save the economic fabic and banking infrastructure of the country. It has an impact on every industry and every individual. So, unless you are an unemployed benefit sponger you should want the banking industry to recover, even if the price is high.

Why can't we just let our banks be taken over or be replaced by foreign organisations?

[VladTheDad]

james_tigerwoods said:

So - The govt bails out the banks to "save our economy" and are lauded by people and some newspapers as saving us all.

But the money come from tax hikes - non? Funny how that's being kept quiet.

How long can tax rises be put off for?

I don't think it's being kept quiet - just doesn't need to be said does it? Would you rather pay a bit more tax or live in an economy where there are no jobs, and money is worthless?