How can you expect a regulator to be effective when it gets all of its money from the industries it regulates, yes 100% of its money come from the banking and insurance industry. How else could they allow the Northern Rock fiasco to occur . They are also presiding over the Aviva reattribution scandal by allowing Aviva to keep money from policyholders investments for forward business purposes. The FSA senior management are not acting in the interests of the people of GB that's for sure.

bob taylor, castelnau, France

The Financial Services Authority or FSA ( isn't that also the Food Standards Agency?) is peopled by rejects from the Financial Services Industry. As soon as anyone clever or competent is hired by them they are quickly tempted by one of the major institutions, leaving Canary Wharf full of second and third rate thinkers which absolutely zero experience of life at the sharp end.
Today Independent Financial Advisers and Mortgage brokers are hog-tied by mindless bureaucracy designed by an amalgam of demented control freaks who after 17 years in various disgises as LAUTRO, FIMBRA, PIA and FSA still cannot explain APR--that twisted useless figure that must be disclosed on all documents but through which the Banks and their kin can weasel all manner of detrimental moves on borrowers and savers alike!
If they cannot improve on APR how the hell can they be expected to tackle Northern Rock?
They haven't got the people, the know-how, the resource, or the intellect, and they never will!

ken streete, Harrogate, UK

We are all tired of this continuous parading of MPs, civil servants and hangers on, confirming the obvious crass inefficiency and corruption which, under Blair and Brown, has pervaded our society for years. The knight who was responsible for the FSA, since retired on a fat pension and hand out, was too busy touring, on tax payer’s money, the world's beauty spots accompanied by his wife. I believe he parted with words to the effect, ' I am proud of what we achieved at the FSA under my stewardship'. Aren't we all?

c donnelly, beverley, uk

We are all tired of this continuous parading of MPs, civil servants and hangers on, confirming the obvious crass inefficiency and corruption which, under Blair and Brown, has pervaded our society for years. The knight, who was responsible for the FSA, since retired on a fat pension and hand out, was too busy touring, on tax payer’s money, the world's beauty spots, accompanied by his wife. I believe he parted with words to the effect, ' I am proud of what we achieved at the FSA under my stewardship'.

c donnelly, beverley, uk

Who set up this system to regulate all the finance houses,to split responsiblity between the Bank of England,the Treasury and the FSA.?
I think it was a certain GORDON BROWN....enough said.

Nigel Wheatcroft, wimbledon,

stupidity is catching, today i listen to member of a commitee, he talked he talked, man did he talk, and what did he talk, to regulate the city, oh oh oh dear, more regulation and the money and jobs go else where, Regulate and we have laws making thetax payer the gaurantor for future gambling debts of the city,Our leaders want us to believe their failure dddddue to incompetence, not due to faults left in the banking codes(not laws) by design. One design fault, is good bank customers are guarenteed £30k and the banks £70 billion now thats what i call regulation.The only regulation the city needs is to lose billions on reckless gambling, or reckless gambling with a guarentor is good for business.

michael joseph heavey, cahersiveen>adams towns, madness

The previous crisis of this kind was 140 years ago. Then the Bank of England and the government of the day resolved it quickly and efficiently - not so this time. There was of course no FSA then so maybe that was why. The government was thrown a lifeline as you point out from the beginning by Lloyds TSB but despite the lessons from the past (it was Barclays that stepped in then), they were rebuffed.

The question arises therefore; 'Why was it allowed to get into such a mess'? The answer may be found in an article on figurewizard.com titled - Northern Rock 2007: Overend Gurney 1866.

figurewizard, Petersfield, UK

They put Nick leeson in jail for gambling with the Bank's money. When they catch this French fellow there's a jail cell waiting for him probably, for incompetence or gambling with other people's money.
They should be thinking about conspiracy charges for 'Sir' Callum McCarthy and 'Sir' John Gieve, for knowingly allowing the idiots in charge at Northern Rock to gamble away the depositor's money.
What's the difference between their knowing or reckless complicity in this Multi Billion pound hole, resulting from reckless gambling. Oh, Of course -They are part of the Establishment. So, that's all right then. - Let them keep their huge pensions, salaries and perks.

Richard Brady, Kyiv, Ukraine

This article is too kind to Mervyn King. His arrogant and misguided attitude to the so called "moral hazard" when he should have been stabilising the system was largely to blame - however you don't mention this at all.

M Jeffs, Bucks, U.K.

Looks like 3 slip fielders are not a good idea as the ball can still get through. Maybe they should have had a gully? For bankers who pride themselves on financial acumen across the world, and who tick you off for running an overdraft of 0.1p, the current credit crunch is unbelievable. Grown men who lent money to the 'ninja' people on the basis that if it did not work out they could take their houses - and then sell these doubtful debts to their colleagues, should be heartily ashamed. Their lack of professional knowhow and nous is totally unacceptable and has only exacerbated the 'housing problem' which returns every 18 years and has not been addressed by Chancellors or central bankers.

Norman Grossman, London, UK

The concept that the Financial Services Authority did not supervise NR is flawed. The FSA should have been set up to create a financial framework whereby businesses like NR had to keep to guidelines of financial reserves, the practice of lending more than a house was worth should never have been allowed to start, to allow "self certification" by the self employed to obtain a morgage should have been only allowed by a certificate from an Independant Accountant. The way that NR ran their business was obviously perfectly acceptable to the FSA, untill NR ran out of money. The government should never have stepped in, NR should have been put into administration immediatly, the assets of NR would have been bought up by Virgin or whomever very quickly,market forces would have resolved the problem. The FSA should revise what their priorities should be, make the financial institutions pay an insurance or insist that a considerable amount of profits are retained and not paid to directors.

Jim Allan, Wigan, Lancs