TCC Board Member, Steve Baker MP, has been on the front line this week trying to bring his sound economic judgement to bear on the latest example of crony capitalism – the scandal over Barclays’ rigging of the inter-bank interest rate. Describing the banks as having “licence not liberty,” he highlights the overall problem with the banking system, that it is “not capitalism when the tax payer has to pick up commercial risks.”
Steve calls for the adoption of his Financial Institutions (Reform) Bill, which would make bank directors and board members liable for the losses their banks incur and force them to carry the consequences of their actions.
You can listen to Steve’s interview on The World at One on iPlayer (16 minutes in), or through this MP3.
Meanwhile, writing in The Express, Stephen Pollard also highlights Steve’s radical bill as emulating the system under which NM Rothschild and JP Morgan grew their banks into financial giants while at all times acting responsibly and being conservative in their risk taking.
We can dream of a World (or even a country) where people are held responsible in law for their actions. Any small start is to be welcomed, reversing a tide that has flowed for centuries the other way.