This is probably a gross over simplification, but what's worrying is that back in the Eighties the manufacturing sector was left to fester and die, while the financial sector was encouraged to flourish and prosper, driven entirely by greed and fuelled by relaxed regulations. Wealth was seemingly created from thin air. Now, like a house of cards, it all seems to be collapsing. What's Britain's fall-back position. Oh dear, we don't have one because we don't make anything any more.

I wonder if the arguments that bankers are so well paid because "they would go abroad or elsewhere if not !" still holds firm?

Not in my world, greedy greedy bankers some of which "earn" £6/8 million a year and still expect £million+ bonuses even if failing to make a profit as if the mega salary is not enough!

What some have done is Criminal and they should be brought to book as a normal working class or even poor person would be.

I think everyone is away now of the fecklessness of the banks. Are they going to improve their act on their own?

Of course they're not. Start *jailing* some of them though and things might just start to change a little.

I'm rather amused though how the Financial Services Authority hasn't been gutted from top to bottom. This organisation was either unaware of all these activities for years or chose to sit by and do nothing about them for years - 'light touch' regulation (probably poltically motivated) at best.

Shouldn't the FSA be paying the price too? Clearly we have here an organisation that is no more fit for purpose that the banks they are supposed to monitor...

they should be nationalised until every paid has been repaid with interest then we can profit from their sale

"Instead of being the wise and trustworthy harbours of financial expertise for customers, we now know they were just pigs in a trough, working in their own interests, lining their own pockets." What else do you expect from private business, or our elected representatives for that matter? We seem to be wallowing in an era of greed and corruption that appears unstoppable.

'They have betrayed ordinary people and through their actions have brought hardship to millions. If ever there was a sector which needed to go back to basics, it is the tarnished banking industry.'

Better late than never. Just don't spoil this encounter with reality by telling us we're 'all in it together' or how doctors/teachers/firemen should 'share the pain'.

Instead, could we have a campaign for the bankers who caused the crisis to be rounded up, dangled off Canary Wharf (by the braces would be good) and pinged up and down a few times till all the money they stole from us falls out of their pockets? This will then be redistributed to those whose pension plans have been affected. The bankers will then be carted off to do 30 years free community service. As a starter, perhaps they could steward the olympics and sleep under Londom Bridge at nights. Cameron and Osborne could join them there and swap yarns about fagging at Eton, or whatever.

Sound good?

My problem is the title of the article;

Leader: Banks need to clean up their act

The banks have had a thirty year run of light touch regulation in a free market economy. Look at where that has led us. They are now dishonoured, disgraced and dishonest. The very last thing that we need is the banks to sort themselves out. Self regulation has failed and now it is time for stiff regulation. Imposed on the banks. If that means that the casino gamblers move somewhere else and the dishonest dealers go with them, so be it. I think we need to get back to my word is my honour.. Yes we manage billions of pounds of overseas money here and it brings good returns and pays a lot of tax. But why are overseas money men holding their money here? because of the old integrity. If we don't clean it up that money will go away. I think it will stay here if we are seen to ahead of the curve regulating and making investments safe.

The original Jake is right that our decimated manufacturing base is not fit to take over as the engine house of the economy. We need Training in skills education of engineers and investment in British industry and most important of all, respect for Engineers instead of the current situation where accountants and bankers always win the argument because they know what they are doing. We know now that they don't. If the country is to survive as a leading nation we have to start making goods for selves and for export using British companies creating wealth that stays here.

I must admit to being more than a little puzzled by the recent banking revelations.

If people rob banks,they go to jail.

If bank(er)s rob people,they get obscene bonuses and bailouts.

Answers on the back of a fat cheque.

it is now obvious the big 4 banks cannot be trusted with our money, but there is a white knight about to charge down our high streets. the co-op bank are buying 600 bank premises from lloyds tsb who have been forced to sell them by the regulators. soon the big 4 will have competition from the co-op bank, virgin money, supermarket banks, santander, and various building societies.

which bank has no merchant bank arm, has never been accused of mis selling, nevor fiddled the libor rate, and never been brought to its knees by lending too much. i give you the co-op bank and when it opens near me, helpful banking will take on a whole new meaning.

i also believe the co-op bank has a policy of always investing in the shares of green companies and certainly not arms companies. i cannot wait for the co-op to rid us of spivs barrow boys, crooks and back hand bonus rogues.

hurry up co-op bank and rescue us from the con merchants!

I was shocked to find out that the banks are responsible for introducing 97% of our money and the government only 3%. Thus it seems printing money has been privatised, unfortunately were we to print out own money we would go to prison. When you have private institutions controlling 97% of the countries money those who are in charge of just 3% had better tread carefully.

BACK IN THE 'BAD OLD DAYS' - the 60's and 70's the majority of the working population were paid weekly with a pay packet in CASH.

Oh how the banks bowed and scraped and made promises if you put YOUR CASH into THE BANKS MONEY PIT.

I suggest when you are paid... take out evry penny not needed to pay bills and put YOUR CASH IN YOUR WALLET ... OR biscuit tin hidden in your house.

Watch the banks squeal and twitch with horror

heeh heh ... as the cash flow trickles down

i agree let us not forget nationwide, i at present bank with the helpful bank which now opens 2 days a week in my market town. i only keep £10 in that acount and put any other elsewhere.

on the savings side national savings are in the process of closing their card account and deposit bank unless you transfer to telephone or internet banking. er no thanks.

post office savings have introduced a card account called instant investor but you need £500 to open it. a non starter for most.

so hurry up co-op and other worthy institutions, clean up our high street soon ,please

Yes, Nationwide comes out well in the Ethical Consumer's free guide to Banking Current Accounts, as do other Building Societies, Credit Unions and ethical financial institutions

Ethical Consumer is 'the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation'.

Their website would be a good place for people to start the process of moving their money into institutions which cleaned up their act a long time ago.

the first thing barclays should do is to rebrand their name and motif. i suggest they change their oomygoolie bird to a set of scales and change the colour to green red or any other colour than that which reminds us of fraud, wrongdoing and theft

Quotation from Wikipedia on the "Big Bang" in 1986 For those in any doubt about when it started.

"In the UK, Big Bang became one of the cornerstones of the Thatcher government's reform programme. Prior to these reforms, the once-dominant financial institutions of the City of London were failing to compete with foreign banking. While London was still a global centre of finance, it had been surpassed by New York, and was in danger of falling still further behind.

Thatcher's government claimed that the two problems behind the decline of London banking were overregulation and the dominance of elitist old boy networks and that the solution lay in the free market doctrines of unfettered competition and meritocracy."

Thanks, Ken.

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