"To a bystander like me, those who made £190m deliberately underselling the shares of HBOS, in spite of a very strong capital base, and drove it into the arms of Lloyds TSB, are clearly bank robbers and asset strippers," Dr Sentamu told the annual dinner of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers. "We find ourselves in a market system which seems to have taken its rules of trade from Alice in Wonderland, " he said.
Dr Sentamu noted the contrast between the bailouts to banks and the lack of funding for efforts to eradicate poverty. The US Treasury has proposed a fund worth up to $700bn (£382bn) to buy back much of the bad debt held by banks and other financial institutions. The Archbishop acknowledged the need for stable financial systems if poverty is to be eradicated but quoted commentators who said: "One of the ironies about this financial crisis is that it makes action on poverty look utterly achievable. It would cost $5bn to save six million children's lives. "World leaders could find 140 times that amount for the banking system in a week. How can they tell us that action for the poorest is too expensive?"
Dr Sentamu noted the contrast between the bailouts to banks and the lack of funding for efforts to eradicate poverty. The US Treasury has proposed a fund worth up to $700bn (£382bn) to buy back much of the bad debt held by banks and other financial institutions. The Archbishop acknowledged the need for stable financial systems if poverty is to be eradicated but quoted commentators who said: "One of the ironies about this financial crisis is that it makes action on poverty look utterly achievable. It would cost $5bn to save six million children's lives. "World leaders could find 140 times that amount for the banking system in a week. How can they tell us that action for the poorest is too expensive?"
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