Eric Daniels busy doing nothing on £100,000 a month!

I need new shoes too!

Eric Daniels used to be the chief bottlewasher at Lloyds Banking Group but then got sidelined or sideswiped or whatever. Anyway, he went as boss. Now the ghastly thing is he's still getting one hundred thousand pounds a month to do sweet F A! Well, sit back and smile for the Daily Mail photographer more accurately. He doesn't seem to mind. He may not be quite in the Fred the Shred league, but he made his errors of judgement alright.

I don't decry people getting paid well for doing well, but Daniels seems to relish the thought of getting hefty sums for cheesy grins. Perhaps Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association, no shrinking violet her, could give him one of her waspish routines. We need something to wipe the smile from his face!

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Lloyds to pay £3.2bn for mis-selling PPI policies

Bank trainee?

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside £3.2bn to pay compensation to customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI). This decision follows a high court ruling over the scandal. The bank is inviting past purchasers of PPI to get in contact and lodge a claim for compensation if they think they were mis-sold the policies. Well, that will be a deluge because whichever way you look at it people either got a policy that was never likely to pay out or they were forced to have the policy in order to get the loan.

PPI policies are supposed to cover loan repayments if someone falls ill, has an accident or loses their job. The huge bill has pushed Lloyds into the red to the tune of £3.47 billion. Shareholders be warned. Taxpayers look out!

Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association will be miffed to highest miffery. But she's been overseeing this bunch of legalised cowboys since she lost her seat in parliament in 1997 and saw the light touch of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair descend upon the profession of banking. Not much said whilst New Labour set about new banking.

Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio has basically stuffed the BBA's case. "We will no longer be participating in the BBA's judicial review," he said. "We do not want to continue a long-standing debate of this with the regulator."

Long-standing debate? This is no debate. He and his cronies have been engaged in a despicable money-making scam designed to maximise profits whilst leaving customers with a product that singularly failed to meet expectations.

We should have let the whole stinking ship sink whilst we had a chance. Even paying compensation to savers would have been better than see this black horse limp towards the knackers yard.

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Brussels sprouts up to threaten to close banks down!

So the British government isn't really in charge. I knew that and most voters knew it last month. The eurocrats are in charge. Gordon Brown is the pudding stirrer but it is these wonders from the Wallonian wilderness who get to choose the ingredients. Sometimes it's all nice stuff, very tasty and tempting but likely to lead to overbloating. Sometimes, it's just a stick with no carrots!

They've allowed us to rescue the banks. Well, a lifeline more. If it isn't sorted in five years the lifeline gets cut. Philip Lowe, director general of the Commission's competition department, said that his officials were now looking at the long-term viability of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group and their ability to be weaned off state aid within five years. If they are unable to survive on their own, they will be closed down, as with other industrial sectors such as shipbuilding. "We will do that with the banking sector. We would impose a winding down if the viability of the bank isn't assured," said Mr Lowe.

So there you have it. De facto and de *****! Perhaps if Mr.Lowe is so keen to wind them down if they don't perform, he could start with the bonuses, which are still being squeezed out of the coffers like a wet blanket in the hands of a blancheseuse.

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Banking on patriotism?

Bankers are flocking to the aid of the country! They have a renewed sense of patriotism. They........ I'm dreaming. None of this is true. In fact, they are turning patriotism on its head. Lloyds Bank chief Eric Daniels, who is masterminding his way through piles of cash donated by the Treasury to bail him out of hoplessness defies political reason. He is determined to plough ahead with plans to offer generous payouts to top staff. He has defied advisers who have warned that this will inflame public revulsion over 'rewards for failure'.

What will it take for this insensitive money changer to see sense. People are losing their jobs, are fearful of what is to come for them financially and this snout trougher is carrying on as normal. welll, normal for him. John Sargent was on the Andrew Marr show this morning and, with incredulity in his mind, asked when would the penny drop for these guys. When indeed?

Lord Mandelson is gradually stepping up the pressure on them, but I doubt they will do anything unless forced to. Eric Daniels is a poor sort of patriotic banker. It may get to the stage with riots in the streets. Perhaps he could do the decent thing before he finds his head enmeshed in railings outside his corporate offices?

If his case is that his staff will flee the country if the money boxes don't appear, give them some sort of incentive package that rewards their effort in returning the country to a sound financial footing.

If not, he can sing for his supper!

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HBOS confirms Lloyds merger talks

The BBC was right, they are in "advanced talks" to see if they can merge the two businesses. Both the Treasury and Financial Services Authority (FSA) say a deal will ease concerns about the health of the UK banking sector. Maybe. But it would be nice to see a few rogues hung out to dry!

I'm beginning to think that come the US Presidential Election, where the Bush propensity for nationalisation will be an issue, and the forthcoming UK General Election, where the Brown propensity for dithering and dodgy financial administration will be an issue, the voters should TAKE CONTROL!!!

What was that about "We the people"?

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HBOS and Lloyds TSB in merger talks!

It is not an unexpected thing. HBOS shares went down yesterday like a lead balloon. Lloyds TSB has entered the fray to seek the possibility of linking up to become the UK's largest retail bank. Good news for depositors if it comes off. Good news for the economy, I suppose. But it is even better news, if that is the right sentiment, for those that many suspect have been the cause of HBOS' sudden share plunge.

I hope the FSA takes a good look at some of the razor-sharp minds behind this. We need to be guarded against those whose greed is of such anti-social proportions that they know no bounds!

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