… according to the BBC. The Independent says that the markets are worried that undeclared bank losses will reach $1 trillion.
Alistair Darling told the Independent that “We are experiencing an unparalleled period of financial uncertainty caused by the problems in the US housing market … I believe that we can get through that. Many banks in this country have very strong balance sheets after years of making very good profits.”
The BBC article reports Mervyn King as saying “I think we did feel strongly that it would not be right to bail out imprudent banks – we didn’t do that – and we had to take action to protect not the managers, not the shareholders, but the retail depositors – and so far, no retail depositor in this country has lost a penny in this episode.”
Note the language – “many banks,” “so far.”
These guys are shitting bricks.