2008-11-09 21 h 44 :: ft.com :: Saving Savers

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/69a98ba2-ae9a-11dd-b621-000077b07658.html

"Editorial comment" intéressant du Financial Times de lundi, posté dimanche soir, 21:44

Published: November 9 2008 21:44 | Last updated: November 9 2008 21:44

Saving savers


Je recopie tout et je traduis quelques extraits:

There comes a moment when even the most generous taxpayer tires of writing bail-out cheques. On top of the many billions that have already gone into rescuing British banks, last week saw the start of the process to provide full compensation for British customers hit by Iceland’s banking collapse. Is saving these savers that moment?

Alistair Darling clearly does not think so. The chancellor of the exchequer has said all UK retail depositors in the Icelandic banks of Landsbanki, Heritable, and Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander would receive their money in full. This means a government advance for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of £1.4bn, to provide compensation for savings above the £50,000 limit which the scheme should have covered anyway.

The case against providing full protection for such savers is straightforward. Depositors must take responsibility for their own choices. A higher rate from a fixed-term account reflects the risk you cannot withdraw your money when a change in conditions means you want to do so. Those individuals with more than £50,000 to tuck away in savings accounts spread their money between banks so all of it could be covered by the limited guarantees available. Surely they were not so naive in their choice?

Appealing though it would be to introduce a greater sense of moral hazard into policy responses to the financial crisis, this is not the occasion to do so. Private individuals are different from public bodies who have financial professionals managing their risks. It is right that the Audit Commission, the public spending watchdog that found itself caught with £10m in Icelandic banks, faces ridicule rather than rescue. But retail depositors should get support as well as sympathy.

The critical point is British savers should be able to believe that authorisation for a foreign bank to operate in the UK has a consistent meaning in consumer protection terms. The decision to compensate fully the savers in Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley amounted to an implicit, albeit temporary, 100 per cent guarantee to savers in British banks. After the credit crunch, a limit on compensation can be reimposed. Then, as now, a common approach should apply.

Just as taxpayers rescued banks because the alternative was worse, so this degree of compensation is unfortunate but necessary. Savers with internet accounts at UK arms of foreign banks are less visible than those queuing round the block to retrieve their money. But offering them less protection would still destabilise the financial system.



Il arrive un moment où le citoyen le plus généreux se fatigue de payer des chèques de sauvetage. En plus des milliards déjà partis pour sauver les banques britanniques, la semaine passée a vu le début du processus de remboursement complet des clients britanniques frappés par l'effoncrement des banques islandaises. Est-ce que ce moment est arrivé?

Clairement Alistair Darling ne le pense pas. Le chancelier de l'échiquier a dit que tous les déposants du Royaume-Uni dans les banques islandaises Landsbanki, Heritable, et Kaupthing Singer et Friedlander recevraient tout leur argent. Cela signifie une avance du gouvernement au "Financial Compensation Scheme" de 1,4 milliards de livres sterling pour le remboursement d'épargne au-dessus de 50.000 l. st. que le système aurait garanti de toute façon.

...

Exactement de la même façon que les citoyens ont sauvé les banques parce que l'alternative était pire, ce niveau de remboursement est pénible mais nécessaire. Les épargnants avec des comptes via Internet dans les succursales de banques étrangères sont moins visibles que ceux qui font la file au coin de la rue pour retirer leur argent. Mais leur offrir moins de protection déstabiliserait quand même le système financier.

J'ai envoyé aux journaux et aux medias l'adresse du message précédent:
https://kaupthing.forumactif.org/informations-reactions-idees-diverses-f1/saving-savers-financial-times-dimanche-soir-interessant-t1450.htm

Il faut donc le laisser ici mais aussi le copier dans le forum "presse" ce que je n'arrive pas à faire.