It's Double, Not Quits, for UK Bank CEOs

Guess who said this yesterday:

"Our strategy is clear. It is to achieve good growth through time by diversifying our business base and increasing our presence in markets and segments that are growing rapidly."

Clue: he's a chief executive of one of the banks that has today asked the UK taxpayer for a helping hand.

Give up?

You're right. Perhaps he should, along with the other heads. Surely it's worth considering that the CEOs who oversaw the unbridled expansion of recent years are the wrong people to restore confidence to the banking system? Citigroup made the change almost a year ago, after all.

Where is shareholder activism when we need it most?

I'd also argue that banks (and insurance companies, for that matter) have demonstrated that they are in fact ill-equipped to commit very much in the way of capital, if any, to 'rapid growth' opportunities...