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Mark Carney Tears Into Bad Bankers For 'Getting Away With It'

Carney Gives Bad Bankers Their Biggest Bashing Yet
Asa Bennett
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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks during a discussion on ethics and finance at the 2014 IMF - World Bank Annual Meetings at George Washington University's Jack Morton Auditorium on October 12, 2014 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images

Mark Carney has warned that reckless bankers are "still at the best golf courses" despite causing the financial crash.

In his strongest attack yet, the Bank of England governor said that these bank executives "got away with their compensation packages" and without any punishment.

Carney, who was once part of Goldman Sachs, also indicated that board members unhappy with new rules meaning they could face jail sentences for banks' wrongdoing should resign.

The Bank governor made his remarks at the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting in Washington.

"One of the legacies of the crisis in the US and by and large in the UK was that the individuals who ran the institutions got away," he said. "They got away with their compensation packages, they got away without sanction.

"Maybe they were not at the best tables in society after that, but they're still at the best golf courses. That has to change."

His remarks came amid reports that two senior HSBC executives are to quit over new misconduct rules. Carney did not directly address this, however he said: "If you're chair of an audit committee, you have responsibility for the activities of an institution. And if you don't think you can discharge that responsibility, you shouldn't be on that board."

In a separate speech, Carney said aims to end "too big to fail" - which saw taxpayers have to bail out large banks to prevent economic chaos during the crisis - would reach a "watershed" at next month's G20 summit in Brisbane.

He said: "Operating in a heads-you-win-tails-you lose bubble, the world's largest banks threatened the stability of the global financial system.

"Their bail-out using public funds undermines market discipline and goes to the heart of fairness in our societies. This cannot be allowed to continue."

Last year, Carney said banking needed a "fundamentally important" culture change. He later on softened his tone and praised the City as a "national asset", but in May, lashed out at bankers for their "disturbing" greed.

The governor said in the run-up to the crisis "banking became about banks not businesses" while financial products designed to meet the needs of firms "morphed into ways to amplify bets on financial outcomes".

"When bankers become detached from end-users, their only reward becomes money."

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