The Independent, 21 October 2009

King of Bank of England slams bonuses

Published on 21 October 2009
The Independent, 21 October 2009

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"Never has so much money been owed by so few to so many." Paraphrasing Winston Churchill after the Battle of Britain, the Governor of the Bank of England has condemned the bail-out of Britain's banks. On its front page, The Independent reports that Mervyn King described as "breathtaking" and "unsustainable" the 1,000 billion pounds (1,109 billion euros) provided by Britain's taxpayers to prop up the country's beleaguered banking industry. King's remarks will re-ignite the ongoing debate on the amount of bonuses to paid by the City, which has already recovered from last year's financial crisis. In its editorial, the daily notes that "at the moment we, the taxpayer, take the risks, while the employees of this privileged sector are in line for vast bonuses," and warns that the banks are heading "for a crude political backlash."

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