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| Banks in 30 alerts, while Lloyds is on the brink |
A STAGGERING 30 official warnings over ten years were made about the perilous state of Britain's banks before they collapsed—but the Government failed to act.
City watchdog the Financial Services Authority repeatedly raised the alarm before juggernauts including HBOS, RBS and Northern Rock crashed. But Gordon Brown said he had no idea of the warnings.
An explosive report from the Bank of England as far back as 1997, when he was Chancellor, slammed the City bonus culture.
The revelations show the Government failed to spot warning signs that could have stopped the melt-down.
THE Government’s bail-out has failed to kick-start bank lending, Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke said yesterday. Just eight per cent of small businesses say their banks are using a new scheme to lend more cash.
.................................LLOYDS Banking Group is days away from being nationalised, costing the taxpayer billions of pounds, City experts said last night.
It is on the verge of collapse after HBOS — taken over by Lloyds last year — notched up a staggering £10 billion loss.
The Government already owns 43 per cent of the new bank and Chancellor Alistair Darling has refused to rule out full nationalisation. Last night, when Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable was asked if Lloyds could be nationalised next week, said: “The group is very close to the edge.”
Taxpayers have already sunk £17 billion into the two banks. Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke said the merger had turned into a “disaster”.
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