This email was sent to Money Box subscribers on 14 February 2009

Dear listener,

I love you all. Take that as an early Valentine’s Day message because there isn’t much love in Money Box this week. As you will see in the agenda below.

But before we get on to that I’d just like to say “sorry”. After all sorry seems to be the easiest word this week. Half a dozen bank bosses – chairmen and chief executives – have said they were sorry. Though as my colleague Nick Robinson pointed out the apologies were a bit like the captain of the Titanic saying sorry that the iceberg was there but not admitting responsibility for failing to avoid it or for telling passengers the ship was unsinkable.

My apology is on behalf of all journalists of course. Not only did we fail to predict the credit crisis and the near collapse of the banking system. We also encouraged our listeners and readers to take part in the casino of remortgaging, borrowing, switching, and taking the banks’ proffered shilling without realising it was in fact leased from someone else, who sold the income stream to a third party who had themselves insured the risk that the lease would default and then borrowed money against the insurance policy.

I have also referred to the Financial Services Authority as “the City watchdog” when clearly it wasn’t. This week the FSA has published its Business Plan for next year showing an increase in its total budget of 36.5% to £437.7m. Let’s hope the extra £117m works better than the £321m it spent last year. (And the answer to your question is “we do” through higher costs of financial products)

I also once said that a bank chief executive was “in charge”. Also apparently not true. So I am sorry. Profoundly and unreservedly sorry. Now let’s get on.

*** ON MONEY BOX THIS SATURDAY ***

Northern Rock shareholders have lost their High Court bid to gain a higher price for their shares. When the government nationalised the bank it passed a law to limit the value of their shares. Shareholders claim that is contrary to the bit of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects the right to property. The judges disagreed. There will be an appeal. More on the programme.

Among the finance bosses apologising this week there will be one notable absence. Standard Life chief executive Sir Sandy Crombie. He was the boss who was “too busy” to come on when we challenged the company over the fact that its Pension Sterling Fund which was marketed as “cash equivalent” had fallen by 5%. This week the insurer did a U-turn and agreed to restore the missing 5% at a cost of £100m. It would also allow its 97,000 customers a free transfer into a genuine cash fund. But Sir Sandy – who was knighted this New Year for services to insurance – still won’t come on Money Box to tell us why Standard Life changed its mind.

Banks have particular privileges if you owe them money and have a current account with them. They can just take the money you owe out of your bank account without asking. We report further.

With interest rates tumbling where oh where can you get a decent return on your money? Is now the right or the wrong time to start taking risks?

There might be more. There might be less. Find out what’s in and what’s out by listening to Money Box. Saturday at noon. Unusually there is no repeat on Sunday this week. But you can of course listen online, download the programme or subscribe to the podcast through our website bbc.co.uk/moneybox where there is lots of other exciting stuff, including videos.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS Don’t forget the programme taster on BBC Breakfast between quarter to nine and nine o’clock. If you miss it, you can watch it on our website.


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