18th March 2008
Going, going, gone
With the money markets plunged into yet more turmoil and the future of capitalism hanging in the balance, is Gordon Brown beginning to question the wisdom of the light-touch (i.e. soft-touch), principles-based (yeah, right) system of financial regulation he ushered in with the Financial Services and Markets Act that created the FSA. Today Northern Rock announced that a third of its staff will have to leave by 2011; well, the FSA may go one better. Morale at the financial regulator has reached such an incredible low that 34% of staff questioned in the latest confidential staff survey (letter to me by Hector Sants, FSA CEO, 6th March 2008) said they intended to leave the organisation within two years. Five of the clearly under-staffed and under-supervised ‘core team’ that were responsible for regulating Northern Rock have done just that. Not before picking up their bonuses for work in years 2005 and 2006,which now seem like late-capitalism’s long-gone golden age.
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