Ray Perman
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Cyprus: repeating history’s mistakes
The parents of Cyprus Central Bank Governor Demetriades did their son no favours when they christened him Panicos. If, as seems likely, he loses the job he took up less than a year ago and returns to UK academic life it is not hard to guess what his nickname will be.
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The Library of Mistakes
Whenever I meet Russell Napier he’s cheerful, which is surprising since he has made a living out of pessimism – or, more exactly, grave doubts about the ability of many of his fellow finance professionals to learn the lessons of the past.
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Nothing up his sleeve?
Is George Osborne planning a pre-election give-away funded by the sale of shares in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland?
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A touch of class?
Newspapers made great play on the rewriting of history by Eric Daniels, former Chief Executive of Lloyds, last week, when he appeared to backtrack on his statement that the takeover of HBOS had been done with inadequate due diligence.
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Separation of sales and risk is wrong
A venerable Bank of Scotland General Manager, now long retired, once told me that Scottish bank managers looked deep into your soul and only when they were convinced you did not need the money would they agree to lend to you.
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How service gave way to sales at the Bank of Scotland
When did Bank of Scotland begin the change from a predominantly service culture to one being predominantly driven by sales? In HUBRIS, I acknowledge that it was starting before the merger with Halifax, but new light has been shed by a reader – a former senior HR executive in the Bank, who dates it from
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Why do only little people go to prison?
The big story in today’s papers is not Peter Cummings’ evidence to the Parliamentary Commission in which he lambasted the Financial Services Authority (FSA), even though that got most of the headlines. The remarks of Andrew Bailey, chief executive designate of the Prudential Regulation Authority, that banks have become too big to prosecute are much
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Stevenson receives the coup de grâce
Evasive, repetitive, unrealistic. Unless my old newspaper instincts have deserted me that description by Andrew Tyrie of Lord Stevenson’s evidence to the Parliamentary Commission, is what will make the headlines. And the former HBOS-chairman will find it hard to outlive the label.
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Incompetence brought down HBOS, Crosby admits
What is the significance of the aggression with which the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards went for ex-HBOS chief executive James Crosby?