La City: on délocalise par anticipation

La City: on délocalise par anticipation

Quoi qu’il en soit des diverses spéculations, manœuvres, etc., ces derniers temps autour du sort de la City (on en a parlé dans les colonnes de dedefensa), il semble bien que le prix à payer de la crise financière sera élevé. Il est notamment question sérieusement d’une réduction substantielle d’afflux de nouvelles sociétés et des transactions vers cette place financière, comme la City était régulièrement accoutumée. En un mot, la City a été sérieusement blessée dans la bagarre.

C’est Peter Sands, de la grande banque standard Chartered, qui fait ce sombre pronostic pour le Daily Telegraph (voir au 16 janvier 2010 à ce lien: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7005935/City-has-been-damaged-by-banking-mistakes.html). A noter que Peter Sands est plein de bonnes intentions pour la “moralisation” des banques.

«Peter Sands, group chief executive of Standard Chartered, one the UK's big five banks, said that conditions were now worse in London and that new financial business was more likely to locate elsewhere. “I'm afraid to say that London has been damaged both by the failures of management of regulation that led to the crisis and some of the responses to the crisis,” Mr Sands told The Sunday Telegraph. “That is not good for London and it is not good for the UK because, like it or not the financial services sector, the City, is one of the industries in which the UK is a global leader.

»“The bonus payroll tax is also damaging, particularly because for a very long time the thing that has attracted international activity to London has been a reputation for consistent, fair and predictable regulation and tax and accounting. “The moment you get into a world when one off things start happening that is a very different type of environment." He said since the financial crisis the balance of economic power had shifted towards the East.

»Speaking ahead of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos next week, of which he is co-chair, Mr Sands said that banking had to redefine itself as a “values-ladened” industry if it was to regain the trust of the public. He admitted that there had been “excesses” in the past but that many banks, including his own, which did not need a Government bail-out, had changed many practices, including around bonuses. “The crisis has been a wake-up call to bankers that they are not just there to make money but they are there to play a role in the broader economy and society,” Mr Sands said.»

“Ulysse”