Sir Mervyn surprised at level of access to Downing Street

Speaking to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, Sir Mervyn King expressed his surprise at the level of access the banks had to ex-prime minister Gordon Brown during his term in office. Sir Mervyn, who steps down as Bank of England governor in June, said: “I was surprised at the degree of access to bank executives at the very top. It was certainly easier to access people at the very top (for the banks) than the regulators. "I remember before 2007 the only time there was a speech about regulation by the prime minister, was when there was an attack on the FSA about over bureaucratic regulation. “The banks knew that if the FSA was tough on a bank the chief executive would go straight to number 10 or number 11 (Downing Street) and say that this is an attack on the UK's most successful industry, even when it was a perfectly reasonable application of the regulations.” March 8, 2013