Plaid Cymru’s economy spokesperson Adam Price MP has welcomed comments from the Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, supporting Plaid Cymru’s policy of separating commercial and deposit banking against the position taken by the Labour Government and the Conservative opposition.
The action of dividing the two arms of banking is known as a ‘Glass-Steagal’ separation after the original American Act in the 1930s.
Plaid’s Adam Price MP said:
“The separation of investment and retail banking, basically to ensure that our deposit savings stay in the bank and aren’t gambled on the stock market, is long overdue.
“I am glad that Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, has come out in favour of this move. His words come despite political pressure, attempts to sideline his views from the Labour Party that got us into this mess, and the Conservatives whose economic policies made them the architects of the crash.
“Gordon Brown’s rejection of Mr King’s suggestions show a complete disregard for ordinary people whose taxes bailed out the banks in the first place”.
Mr Price continued:
“Plaid favours a system where banks would not be allowed to gamble with people’s money in the reckless way which they have in the past, and, it seems, still want to do in the future.
“Local savings banks or a Postbank, using the facilities already available at the Post Office, would be a far more socially beneficial way of banking.
“This would give better security to people’s savings as well as assisting local businesses and homebuyers.”
