The Spectator (UK) wonders, does Britain now own the banks or do the banks own the taxpayers?
RBS’s £2 trillion of liabilities dwarfs not only the government reserves but the entire UK economy. Brown hasn’t so much nationalised the banks, he has bank-ised the nation. It really does change how we see government, and transforms the nature of the machine David Cameron will pretty soon be in charge of. It is, as John Redwood says, a massive bank with a small struggling government attached to it.
Whew, I’m sure glad nothing crazy like that could happen here.