FSA reveals potential penalty for failed bank bosses
December 24, 2010 at 2:49 pm
The ferocity of the anger directed towards British bankers since the start of the recession has reached, at times, astronomical levels, with a few of the top banks’ top bosses bearing the brunt as Brits struggle to cope with the aftermath of the global crash. Now, though, officials at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have joined in with the calls from the public for bosses at Britain’s banks never again to repeat the mistakes that have proved so devastating for so long now.
The head of the FSA, Lord Turner, has stated that those top bankers who have made crippling errors and decided to ignore entirely the element of risk when performing their day jobs should be financially punished in order to protect the interests of the innocent British taxpayer.
Lord Turner stated that senior executives might be forced to abide by strict rules that would prevent them from being able to seek employment in similarly important, top roles at banks in the future if they take risks deemed unnecessary or excessive. Rules currently in operation in the USA, which demand bankers to surrender two years of their salary if they are found guilty of causing the collapse of a bank, could also be introduced into the UK.
Whilst Lord Turner’s remarks have been met with criticism from some quarters, with one lawyer describing the concepts as “misconceived”, it seems that those left severely out of pocket by the recession may well be in agreement with the thought of introducing harsher penalties.
