Banks: Too big to fail, too big to go to jail. Who’s sorry? Every single person who has been defrauded

Almost four years have passed since Bob Diamond sat in the Commons and told MPs: “There was a period of remorse and apology for banks. I think that period needs to be over.”

That was in January 2011, and since then there has been scandal after scandal in his industry, several of them involving his former bank.

Mr Diamond was the kingpin at Barclays but stood down when it was found to have rigged the Libor rate. This week Barclays is up to its neck in shame again, as one of the banks caught manipulating the foreign exchange markets.

 
 Fromer RBS chief Stephen Hester

Yet, as is being screamed loudly on newspaper front pages and by politicians, no banker has gone to jail in this country for anything – not for the greed that almost brought the entire economic system of the world to a grinding halt; not for mis-selling financial products to unsuspecting customers; and not for fixing key benchmark interest rates and currency prices.

Mr Diamond? His bonuses, which easily totalled £100m during his reign, are safely stashed away; he has launched a new African banking venture; and his daughter’s recent wedding in the South of France was eye-popping in its opulence. Bob tweeted “Father of the Bride” under a picture of Nell in her dress – made from 35 metres of silk and comprising a 15ft-long train.

 
 Bob Diamond's former CEO Barclays daughter Nell wore a dress – made from 35 metres of silk and comprising a 15ft-long train – at her recent wedding in France

On Libor, 13 traders have been charged and one has pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to defraud. The judge has imposed a gagging order barring the name of that trader or their bank.

Continue reading: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/banks-too-big-to-fail-too-big-to-go-to-jail-whos-sorry-9860107.html