Darling blames 'kamikaze' bankers
Updated on 04 July 2009
Chancellor Alistair Darling has blamed "kamikaze" bankers for damaging the British economy.
Mr Darling said a shake-up, to be unveiled next week, will prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.
He has already indicated that next week's banking reform White Paper will include new powers for the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority.
The chancellor said regulators would be able to ask "searching questions" and be "ready and able to deal with failures when they arise".
He said: "We need to learn lessons from the financial crisis in which banks behaved in a kamikaze manner and the regulatory system failed.
"Far too many people in boardrooms did not know, nor understand what was happening in their institutions. We know now that no authority in the world understood the true risks to the system or the likely consequences. That needs to change."
He added: "I want a new banking system we can all rely on and which will be the foundation of our new prosperity."
Mr Darling has played down reports of a battle between Bank of England governor Mervyn King and the FSA, led by Lord Turner, over who will wield powers to regulate banks.
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