Bankers Just Don’t Want to Say Sorry

Great piece in the FT today about the refusal of bankers in the West to say sorry for the almighty Horlicks they’ve made of the world economy. A few examples:

– A spokeswoman for the British Banking Association said yesterday that they “regret the situation we find ourselves in today,” but “banking is clearly only one factor.”

– Klaus-Peter Müller, head of the German banking association, said “No question, we made mistakes… But even if mistakes were made, that shouldn’t be enough to bring a whole profession into disrepute.”

– And we already know that American whipping boy Dick Fuld feels “horrible about what happened” (and presumably a little apprehensive after he was allegedly knocked out in a Lehman Brothers’ company gym last month).

… But so far no magic word.

As Brooke Masters and Richard Milne report, German President Horst Köhler wants “a clearly audible mea culpa,” although he’s not getting it, because bankers are nervous that if they apologise they’ll be held legally culpable for their companies’ travails by shareholders. The swine.

But would ‘sorry’ really do it for us anyway? And is it really going to make us feel better as we careen towards The Great Depression II? Here are a few alternative suggestions for how they might make it up to the nation:

– Seeing as bankers like stocks so much, why not stick them in some? Let’s line them up outside Liverpool Street station, and allow the public to take aim. Rotten produce courtesy of Sainsbury’s.

– Make them do community service for the homeowners they let down so miserably. Duties to include weeding, unclogging the dishwasher, and working on blocked drains.

– Seeing as ITV is also losing out, they could recommission Jade’s PA and force the UK’s leading bankers to compete for the honour of servicing a clueless fame whore. Evan Davis and George Galloway to present.

Posted by Jack Roberts in Hot Money | October 15, 2008 1:39PM |