Jail the Bankers

Jail the Bankers.

Criminal liability for bankers is what has been put forward in a new report commissioned by the government. The report welcomed by the Treasury said that bankers who are guilty of misconduct should be jailed.

Chancellor George Osborne set up a Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards last year after a number of scandals involving the banking industry. The report said that bankers have a lack of accountability and bonuses should be withheld.

Our View

We have long argued for accountability in both the 'high consumer detriment risk' banking sector but also for regulators themselves.

We welcome the move to make senior executives accountable but we believe the risk still remains if regulators such as the new Financial Conduct Authority are allowed to perform their roles without the risk of public censure or job loss or fine or loss of benefits it they underperform.

There are too any public sector jobs in the UK that have no penalty for failure, whether it is a high ranking role or right down to council adminstration workers or hospital porters.