Brown's bank bailout, v2.0

Gordon Brown’s calendar and sense of self must be out of whack. His latest bank bailout, a scheme announced on 19 January to insure UK banks against the risk of “exceptional future credit losses on certain portfolios of assets” ­ intended to get them lending again, ­ looks rather like the prime minister thinks he is Santa Claus and that it is still Christmas.

It seems he has mistaken taxpayer’s money for chocolate coins and taken it upon himself to nourish the banks with everyone else’s Yuletide treats. The Treasury announced on the same day that it would convert its preference shares in RBS to ordinary shares, sparking fears that full nationalisation is now inevitable, and a brief spell for RBS shares in penny-share territory, The Times reports.

Our website has just launched a new opinion poll, The FD Question; tell us if you think this second bailout will succeed in forcing banks to start lending again at www.financialdirector.co.uk/2234258.