The City of London punishes the political rogue traders
I detected a tone of relief when I rang round some old hands in the City of London this week to ask about the financial turmoil unleashed by Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss. For once, the reckless gambler causing chaos was not one of them.
The chancellor addressed them in September to explain that he backed the City, believed it was crucial to increasing UK growth and wanted to unleash a second “Big Bang”. He was referring to financial deregulation, but it turned out to be the government’s approach to markets.
The investment banks that gained a reputation as casinos in the 2007-08 financial crisis were not the institutions that had to be supported by the Bank of England this week. Instead, it was pension funds subjected to a squeeze by the “mini” Budget. Who is the rogue trader now?
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:John Gapper
