t squeezing of their customers, while it must have done a lot for the profits of UK banks, has done little for shareholder value. But above all it has been the basis of the continuation of excessive bonuses for executives. The time has come when the revenues coming into the banking sector have to be adjusted to support savings in a UK that still imports other countries’ savings and also needs to relieve a UK economy that in some parts is heading back into another recession.
So the time has come for the Bank of England to be more insistent upon its guidance, and get the banks to stop putting themselves first. The money is in their margins to allow this to be done. In 2012 we hope to attract more attention to how we would like to see the Bank of England reformed and made more accountable and responsive to the pressures being felt in the various parts of the UK economy. We also hope to do this while continuing our long-standing work to change the way inflation is measured and controlled in the UK.
Our last report on inflation undermining consumer confidence and growth can be found here.
Further details of our Regional Prosperity & Inflation Project