What a surprise; more financial failure in the UK. A second property fund has frozen withdrawals, trapping over 129,000 small savers into a rapidly disintegrating investment. Scottish Equitable, one of Britains biggest funds, said it no longer had sufficient cash to meet the demands of panicked investors.
Property fund investors have plenty of reasons to panic. The UK commercial property market is in an unprecedented crisis. Property values, especially in London, are falling rapidly, and investors are desperate to cash out.
As investors are on the verge of losing billions, what is the Financial Services Agency doing? It is "monitoring the situation closely". Monitoring, schmonitoring, that means it is doing nothing.
Like the Northern Rock crisis demonstrated, the FSA have no capacity to monitor, identify and assess financial sector vulnerabilities. When financial panics occur, the FSA are incapable of action. It is an institution hard-wired for failure.
The FSA is a defective, inadequate and malfunctioning institution. It is time that it was wound up, with the Bank of England regaining its traditional responsibilities for supervising the financial system. It is too late to save Northern Rock or the Scottish Equitable property fund, but liquidating the FSA might avoid similar failures in the future.
5 comments:
"..with the Bank of England regaining its traditional responsibilities for supervising the financial system."
Reactionary.
Stop talking down property.
Stop talking down property.
Is that your plan to save the market, stopping people talking it down? You don't work for the FSA do you?
Hear, hear. If you are "anonymous," your comments don't count. Twerp.
Like I said a few posts ago if it all falls apart the blogger will get the blame.
Absolutely! I've been saying this ever since I listened to Mervyn King give evidence to the Treasury Select Committee in the aftermath of Northern Rock.
In my more cynical moments I have suspected the FSA not only of gross misconduct and negligence, but also wondered if key members are corrupt. I would certainly welcome an investigation to establish if the regulators have conflicts of interest.
I am also deeply troubled by the way in which the BoE was stripped of its regulatory role by Brown when all the media mentioned was the BoE being granted "independence". Brown has a lot to answer for.
(Asteve - without a login. :-) )
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