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Originally Posted by danielf
Does anyone know how much of the current debt is due to the banking crisis, and how much is due to 'regular' overspending? I.e: how much debt would we have had if there hadn't been a banking crisis?
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Probably the easiest way to estimate that would be to compare the figures for govenment borrowing just before the banking collapse and after their intervention but it's not just about actual debt/losses, there's also the question of future liabilities. The additional complication with what happened to the banks is that potential losses still cannot be quantified. IIRC RBS in particular (and hence the UK taxpayer) is still exposed to some extremely dodgy lending which could wind up costing us £billions more than has already been spent/lost.
There's more detail here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4...oxic-debt.html
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Confirmation yesterday that the bankers' avarice has officially plunged Britain into recession added to the growing bewilderment as to exactly why we are on the hook for almost £1 trillion in bail-outs and guarantees.
No one even knows exactly how many of these toxic assets British banks are holding, and how much more it might cost the taxpayer to get out of this unholy mess...
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and here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...t-1833830.html
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Government support for Britain's banks has reached a staggering £850bn and the eventual cost to taxpayers will not be known for years, the public spending watchdog says today.
The commitments include buying £76bn of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and the Lloyds Banking Group; indemnifying the Bank of England against losses incurred in providing more than £200bn of liquidity support; guaranteeing up to £250bn of wholesale borrowing by banks to strengthen liquidity; providing £40bn of loans and other funding to Bradford & Bingley and the Financial Services compensation Scheme; and insurance cover of over £280bn for bank assets.
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