Banks buoyed by Basel deal on reserves

All this is really nice to hear. I am pleased for the banking sector, who are able to comply through this financiual crisis, (who they instigated anyway) who have refused to lend to anyone who hasnt got a 25- 40% deposit, who they deem too risky to lend to, or simply dont like!

If you are fortunate to be granted a loanor mortgage from a bank, then they can offer you expensive base rates to deter you, All is rosey for the bans nowadays. Us poor people who helped to bail out the banks arent so lucky. Next thing on the banking sector s will be bonuses and pay award increases.

Just a quick question, who does actually run this country, the coalition governmant, or the banking sector??

I would ask my senior manager to perform an action, but I would TELL my subordiantes to do the same action.. Are the govenment meekely ASKING the banks to lend more money, or are they TELLING them to lend!!????

And finally, what powers do the governments have to enforce this action on the banks????

Sleep well.

Targeting the amount of lending is the worst thing a bank can do.

A bank should set the criteria for risk and lend to those who pass and not lend to those who don't.

Banks who pay staff bonuses for meeting lending targets are asking for trouble since staff will be incentivised to manipulate procedures to allow loans to be agreed that should be turned down.

There are countless examples of the price banks pay in bad debts for having incentivised lending targets a year or two earlier.

So we have new rules for captal adequacy-good so they stuck it to the banks. Well lets not forget that the so called financial crisis we have just been through was created by the US investment banks notably Goldmans who piled a small amount of knowingly dodgy stuff into some good quality stuff with the connivance of the rating agencies who were paid to give a top investment grade rating. The media-fuelled panic we saw a couple of years ago led to the market writing down the value of these bands to near zero. Of course this was sheer nonsense but hey who can be rational when someone shouts "fire" in a crowded cinema and all the doors are locked. Asset values are recovering and will continue to do so despite the financial media's best efforts to keep pumping the lame nonsense put out by by the long bond funds such as Pimco. There would not have been a run on a bank if Peston and the BBC had'n't triggred one on Northern Rock. Sure we have a bit of dip but then its not surprising when all you hear day in day out is that we are heading for financial armageddon. Its time to move on and stop knocking the banks and tieing them up with more and more red tape. Lets hang on to what we have left in terms of banking whilst we still have it and not be told what is good for the UK by some goon in Frankfurt. Time to round up the nutters and put them back in the asylum. Is anybody out there still afraid to buy the UK's banks?

one way or another the banks will raise intrest rates on loans and mortgages to feather there nests while still paying very little to the depositers of this world..

they borrow at very low rates from the bank of england and lend at high rates.where i agree this is the way banks are supposed to operate..there seems no end of the ways they will try to grab you money by stealth in some cases,

take from the rich to give to the poor more a... take from the poor to give to the rich.

Hi Jo and David, both very good points. Joe,, you havent invested alot of money into the banks have you by chance????

Hey Martin :-) of course you are spot on! But then I have never said anytthing else on this msg board. I bought more more than a year ago and have been buying the dips and sweating. I have been wrong and long on stocks such as Cattles where I was fooled by a dishonest management. I don't believe Eric Daniels or Stephen Hester are of the same calibre. Furthermore as much as it would be flattering, I dont think I could have much of an impact on market sentiment these days - note these days - LOL. I do however, seriously believe that Lloyds and RBS will re-emerge as national champions, and as such, on a long enough time horizon will prove to be colossal investments. For the record, I am also long the house builders and insurance and feel the bond markets are due for a severe pasting.