We’re not amused

The Financial Services Bill will apparently give the FSA new powers to void contractual remuneration agreements but this is retrospective action designed to deal with the last financial crisis. The one the FSA didn’t see coming.

This is populist economics and ultimately a lawyers-get-rich charter since even richer rich bankers will sue like fury when guaranteed bonuses are withheld or postponed.

It’s no way to run the financial services industry, never mind a country.  If, as expected, living wills are part of the reform package, that’s simply euthanasia for sick banks and playing to a narrow, local agenda. They take no account of wider global trends that require more international co-operation between regulators.

Apart from shambolic fiscal and regulatory proposals, Labour’s last programme of legislation before the election will address the subject of digital Britain. The current reality of our digital economy is that we don't have one, but e-commerce is being touted as a route to economic growth and recovery. Whether the government should be taxing landlines to fund broadband investment is another matter, given the current national debt and proposed VAT increases in 2010.

The other notable commitment from Labour is that national debt is to be halved within four years, while the young are to be better educated and OAPs cared for more assiduously. For its part, the CEBR expects national debt to increase and quantitative easing to continue. Their worry is how things look further into 2010 as fiscal tightening kicks in and bank lending remains weak.

Regardless of our political masters and their shenanigans, raising alternative financing will remain a top priority for most businesses in the coming years.