Bank regulator kicks cat.

In reaction to yet another act of criminality by a British bank, the head of the UK’s Financial Services Authority kicked his cat across his living room.

The alternative would be to fine the bank. But that just hits shareholders without punishing the ACTUAL PEOPLE responsible for the criminality. The net result would be that those working in banks have no reduced incentive to act in a criminal manner in future, plus potential bank shareholders would want a bigger reward for supplying banks with capital. I mean if you’re going to be punished for someone else’s crimes, obviously you’ll want compensation for that “privilege”. Plus of course that extra compensation would raise interest rates for those seeking mortgages.

So the head of the FSA was quite right to kick his cat across his living room: at least that’s better than fining the bank. Plus trying to fine a bank involves spending huge sums on lawyers’ fees, and that’s all avoided by kicking cats across living rooms.