Part of the problem is that we, as bank account holders, expect something for nothing by being unwillinging to pay for having a bank account. If all bank accounts are free, unless you opt for one of the accounts with a fee the banks need to get money from us in other ways. This why bank staff have been turned into sales staff with targets and bonuses and even their jobs depending on sales so that they end up selling inapproriate products to unsuspecting account holders.
There was a lot of criticism at the time of Barclays decision to get money from the Middle East rather than the government. I cannot remember all the details but it was considered chancy and offered on onerous terms that could affect the long term operations of the bank - and that has been proved right.
The problem lies fairly and squarely with successive governments here and in the USA who since Mrs Thatcher freed financial regulation in 1986 and the 'Big Bang' have been abject slaves at the feet of the banking barons, allowing them to ride over them rough shod. In the years before 2008 all the financial commentators in newspapers and on the radio were warning about the reckless borrowing and lending by banks, consumers and governments but governments completely ignored them and then expressed totally surprise and ignorance when the manure hit the fan.
It is exactly the same with the Euro. When it was set up it was well-known that Greece and Italy in particular were grossly fiddling the figures to meet Eurozone requirements and what the results would be. But when disaster struck nobody was more surprised than the governments who knowingly connied in these manipulations.
