TIMES ONLINE: Shares in Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) tumbled this morning after sharp falls on Asian markets in the wake of President Barack Obama’s pledge last night to wage war on American banks in the biggest regulatory crackdown on financial institutions since the 1930s.
Barclays’ shares fell a further 6 per cent to 266p this morning and are trading 14.4 per cent lower than at the start of the week. RBS, the state-owned lender, lost a further 4.45 per cent today to 33.75p.
London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares tumbled by 52.40 points to 5,282.81 in mid-afternoon trade, adding to yesterday's 85.70 point decline after the US President made his announcement.
There are fears that Mr Obama's proposals could force a radical restructure of American banks - a move welcomed by George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, who hailed Mr Obama’s intervention.
He said: “I have said consistently that we should look at separating retail banking from activities like large-scale proprietary trading — and that this was best done internationally. Coming on top of growing agreement on a bank levy, it shows that Conservatives are part of an emerging international consensus on these issues.”
The Treasury said that it would study Mr Obama's moves carefully.
The radical proposals would limit the size of institutions and bar them from the most cavalier trading practices. >>> Emily Ford | Friday, January 22, 2010
