Rapid responses
Interest protection
[Re: European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services, Thursday]
A banking union in the Eurozone makes a lot of sense. The very basic monetary union Europe had before has shown its limits under pressure. As the crisis heated up, European banks were encouraged to restrict cross-border lending and become more nationalistic. A banking union will mean more capital flowing into Eurozone banks, and, hopefully, increased confidence to lend. This should bring stability to both the Eurozone and London. We must be careful not to allow this Goliath to threaten our standing as the international centre for euro-trading. While UK finance ministers have negotiated some key safeguards for protecting British interests, including a crucial a double-majority voting system, we are not yet home and dry.
Robert King.
[Re: Bashing City bankers has unintended consequences for middle England, Thursday]
Rather than shed crocodile tears for the customer-facing, ordinary bank worker, who is wrongly got at by the public, Anthony Browne should aim his criticism at those at the top of the industry – for avarice and, on occasion, outright corruption. I am sure this would be appreciated by retail staff, who are probably as disgusted as the average man in the queue for the counter!
John Hawkes
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