ALL BANKERS ARE GREEDY & INCOMPETENT; DISCUSS.

As the scandal in our banking sector receives huge media coverage, I wonder how it is that the grotesquely overvalued chief executives of these organisations have obtained, and retained, their jobs.

Banks across the world have 'suffered' in the last few years as a result of the modestly named 'banking crisis'. This crisis was, of course, a result of bankers playing fast-and-loose with investors' money, inventing assets and trades that no one understood and yet were apparently approved by senior managers. It is also the case that Governments connived in this behaviour as it seemed to be creating a world in which everlasting economic growth could be achieved, to their own benefit. That a crash was inevitable passed them by, as it did the 'experts' employed to run the banks, as well as those employed to oversee their activities.

In the UK, we have seen banks destroyed while their Chief Officers, together with other senior managers and traders, have enjoyed vast bonus payments which they laughably term as part of their 'compensation'. The 'compensation', what the rest of us call pay, of these people has been set at levels per annum that most of us won't even earn in a whole career, the justification being that such amounts are essential if the banks are to attract the 'best people'.

I don't recall the name of the Chief Executives of Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley and Halifax, but whoever they were they oversaw the destruction of their companies, no doubt while taking home vast 'compensation'. How can these have been considered to be the 'best people' ?

Eric Daniels, then Chief Executive of LloydsTSB, miserably failed to ensure adequate examination of the books of Halifax before he agreed to the merger of the two. Consequently, Lloyds found itself almost ruined and its shareholders lost most of their money; Daniels still took home bonuses, though with some withheld or returned, and then left the bank. He may also have engaged in a bit of tax avoidance during his time at Lloyds. Was he one of the 'best people' ?

Fred Goodwin oversaw the collapse of another major banking conglomerate, Royal Bank of Scotland, which suffered even more savagely than Lloyds. Goodwin initially went off with all his own cash, not to mention his knighthood, while his shareholders saw their investment, of which he was a major custodian, decline to almost nothing. If I recall correctly, 'Fred the Shred' did suffer some eventual penalties, though nothing as dramatic as was suffered by those whose assets he was supposed to be protecting.

Now, we have more in the firing line. Bob Diamond, Chief Executive of Barclays has overseen the 'LIBOR' fixing scandal, while receiving huge payments for his expert leadership of this bank. It seems likely that a few more big names will eventually fall into the gaping maw of this new banking crisis, but Diamond is the man in everyone sights for the moment. This arrogant yank has apparently already stated that he will not resign, even though he has overseen one of the worst banking scandals in history; this refusal to go may, of course, be more about ensuring that he retains financial rights under his contract rather than anything else.

In recent years we have also seen the PPI scandal, another example of the 'best people' working out schemes to fleece the public while ratcheting up large profits and, hence, bonuses, for themselves. Caught out, the banks have had to make huge financial reparation.

How can any of these people have been considered to be the 'best people' for their jobs ? They have jointly overseen the ruination of several UK banks, not to mention a huge blow to the prestige of the City Of London's financial pre-eminence. Other major banks in other parts of the world have also suffered similarly, revealing their own grossly overvalued executives to be nothing but greedy and incompetent.

The word appears to be that very little can be done about this clearly immoral and unethical behaviour; in this country, at least, it is being said that the perpetrators have not actually done anything that comes within the purview of the criminal law and are likely to escape any real penalties. If this is the case, then I would have to revert to the words of Mr Bumble in 'Oliver Twist' : "If the law supposes that, the law is a ass -- a idiot".

It is time for a complete change of culture but whether anything will change will depend on the actions of the Government in the next few weeks. Don't hold your breath.