Biting the hands

What does £37-billion buy you in the U.K. these days? Definitely a huge whack of fish & chips, maybe season tickets to a Premier League club, but clearly not any sort of gratitude. Not, at least, from the banks that benefited from the tax dollars that the government fed them in Bailout U.K.

Asked to cut customer interest rates to stay in line with the Bank of England’s continued attempts to keep the economy afloat, several High Street banks have refused. While unabashedly accepting hand-outs themselves, the banks have no qualms about refusing the same breaks to their clients, telling Britain’s top economic pol that “we’re not charities.”

Called to a meet by Chancellor Alistair Darling to review what he felt were further necessary measures, executives from eight top banks expressed their concerns for what they felt were the already “desperately small” margins of profit they stand to reap, and indicated the three per cent rate they’re currently at represented a “line in the sand.” While he’d prefer quiet acquiescence, Darling said that if banks refused to cut their rates, he’d look into measures to force their hands.

by SCOTT SAXON