Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Profiteering bankers cash in on credit crunch bailouts

The scandal, the infamy, the outrage, the horror:

The Bank of England revealed yesterday that it had racked up record profits of almost £1 billion in the year to February as its fee-earning activities burgeoned amid the global financial and economic turmoil.

The Bank's soaring profits have come as a direct result of its massive interventions to shore up Britain's banking system, as it has levied fees and interest on stricken high-street and commercial banks in return for the financial lifelines that have seen them through the financial storm.

Yesterday's report showed that included in the year's bumper profits for the Bank were £7 million earned through its support for the collapsed Bradford & Bingley and a further £4 million from its backing for the failed Northern Rock. The Bank has also earned large amounts from the £185 billion loaned to banking groups in the form of Treasury bills, under its Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS).

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