Hands off Northern Rock
Hildy Johnson | 26.04.2009 12:27 | Social Struggles
Today we have a national bank in Northern Rock. In having this as a nation we are committing original sin against the neoliberal ethic. To now be told by a bunch of incompetents in awe of their corporate banking masters that OUR NATIONAL BANK is to be flogged from under our very noses will not do.
I have just awoken to find that my bank, Northern Rock, who I have become quite fond of is to be sold off at a knockdown price. According to the Times, the Government is to hand a fat contract to investment bank Credit Suisse to prepare for the privatization of Northern Rock. Of course, the plan is to break it up and sell off the good loans with the taxpayer keeping the toxic liabilities along with the burning of at least 1.3 billion quid
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6169327.ece
Naturally, I am a bit pissed off about this especially as nobody has bothered to ask me if I thought it was a good idea. The rushed sale is to be managed by those corrupt fuckers Credit Suisse who will no doubt earn themselves a massive fee for offloading it to Santander (current owner of Abbey and Bradford and Bingley) or Richard (I´ll leave the UK because of the new 50% tax) Branson.
Not only are they intending to sell it at a loss of 1,300 000 000 quid but they are only selling off the juicy bits like the deposits, branches and good loans whilst I am to be left with the fucking toxic shit. The bill for these liabilities will of course mean that in future when i need a half decent hospital or school there won´t be one available.
An equally serious issue relates to the increasing concentration that it is developing in the UK banking sector as seen by the amalgamation of Lloyds-HBOS and the ambitions of Santander to buy up whatever building society it can get its hands on. This is perhaps what the government wants in the short-medium term since it will enable banks to secure high profits although the corollary is that the rest of us will be getting screwed even harder than usual.
These plans need to be opposed. The early sale of Northern Rock at a loss is going too far. The bank is ours and i think that we need to stand firm on this. The neoliberal mindset is opposed to the nationalization of banks- hence the reason for the outright denial of this option by the Obama administation.
This is an issue that would be a good starting point to focus on at the present time. The bankers don´t want national banks, because national banks can´t dish out those big bonuses that distort the economy. That is to say those inflationary pay rises doled out to bankers and their lackeys that helped inflate property prices. Furthermore, the bonus payment system is there to create a system of cut-throat competition throughout society with the losers cast as unpeople. So in the immortal words of Zammo I propose that we should Just Say No!
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6169327.ece Naturally, I am a bit pissed off about this especially as nobody has bothered to ask me if I thought it was a good idea. The rushed sale is to be managed by those corrupt fuckers Credit Suisse who will no doubt earn themselves a massive fee for offloading it to Santander (current owner of Abbey and Bradford and Bingley) or Richard (I´ll leave the UK because of the new 50% tax) Branson.
Not only are they intending to sell it at a loss of 1,300 000 000 quid but they are only selling off the juicy bits like the deposits, branches and good loans whilst I am to be left with the fucking toxic shit. The bill for these liabilities will of course mean that in future when i need a half decent hospital or school there won´t be one available.
An equally serious issue relates to the increasing concentration that it is developing in the UK banking sector as seen by the amalgamation of Lloyds-HBOS and the ambitions of Santander to buy up whatever building society it can get its hands on. This is perhaps what the government wants in the short-medium term since it will enable banks to secure high profits although the corollary is that the rest of us will be getting screwed even harder than usual.
These plans need to be opposed. The early sale of Northern Rock at a loss is going too far. The bank is ours and i think that we need to stand firm on this. The neoliberal mindset is opposed to the nationalization of banks- hence the reason for the outright denial of this option by the Obama administation.
This is an issue that would be a good starting point to focus on at the present time. The bankers don´t want national banks, because national banks can´t dish out those big bonuses that distort the economy. That is to say those inflationary pay rises doled out to bankers and their lackeys that helped inflate property prices. Furthermore, the bonus payment system is there to create a system of cut-throat competition throughout society with the losers cast as unpeople. So in the immortal words of Zammo I propose that we should Just Say No!
Hildy Johnson
