Madam, – Simon Carswell quotes “well placed sources” in the banks in relation to the guarantee given to banks by the Government on behalf of all of us early on September 30th, 2008 (Business Today, April 5th). Since then the people of this country have gathered from various announcements by Government that they are going to have to pay dearly for the sins of the banks, the Government, etc. After recent announcements in relation to bailing out the banks, however, the ordinary people of this country are still at sea as to what is happening.
The situation in which ordinary people find themselves guaranteeing banks and being responsible for indeterminate billions of their loans is extraordinary. What is even more extraordinary is that they are not being told by their Government how or why decisions were made which has given rise to this situation. They seem to be dependent on leaks by “well placed sources” for whatever information is available.
If, as Government spokespeople say, it is necessary to pay vast sums of money to banks, the least that the people who are going to have to pay need is the details of why and how such a decision was made.
After all that has happened, bland reassurances, behind-closed-doors negotiations and leaks by “well placed sources” are unacceptable. – Yours, etc,