Open Transparenticity, Transparent Candididity

Gordon's little Darling warned today that ten years of sound economic practice have led to "an unparalleled period of financial uncertainty". Darlingbloke's jitters were apparently triggered by the departure of the CEO of the world's largest bank, Citigroup, with a financially sound, non-inflationary, non-pensions-crisis-exacerbating severance package in the region of twenty million pounds. Darlingbloke told the BBC that we need to "get to a far better situation where there is a great deal more transparency, more openness, so people understand the risks to which these banks have become exposed and they can avoid being so exposed in future", but noted that, while some banks "do have considerable exposure ... however these banks do have strong balance sheets", so while things may be about to go to pot, then again perhaps they might not. Given the rapidity with which New Labour can produce legislation to deal with terror suspects, asylum seekers, benefit claimants, people in hoods, people who read lists of names in the vicinity of Parliament Square and other menaces to our way of life, it is curious that Darlingbloke seems to have had nothing to say about the changes in the law which are doubtless being sketched out on the back of an appropriately sized envelope to ensure that the banks behave more responsibly in future.