Tuesday 1 September 2009

FSA Chairman A "Marxist"



The chairman of the Financial Services Authority, who described the City as "socially useless",has been branded a "Marxist" by the Association of British Insurers.

Lord Turner of Ecchinswell makes an unlikely anti-capitalist - he's a former vice-chairman of the investment bank Merrill Lynch, but it takes one to know one, I suppose.

His call in Prospect magazine for a reduction in the size of the financial sector, and for steps to eliminate high-risk practices had City bigwigs choking on their champagne. 

If capitalism is to be saved from itself, it should listen - not that it is. 

Lord Turner has been kicked all round the City by angry bankers and politicians. 

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said Turner was "crackers" for risking the City of London's standing as Europe's leading financial centre and The Association of British Insurers described his remarks as "Marxist".

Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association, interviewed on BBC, refused to believe he'd actually said what he said. "It's a race to see who will sack him first," said one City figure.


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