Here's How We Can Break Up the Banks and Avoid Another Economic Disaster

We should think of the financial system as a utility, in the same way that we think of sewage systems and electricity distribution.

By David Shirreff

We need a new model of banking (and to an extent a reworking of the entire financial system), so that it is less likely to need rescue by the taxpayer and is more likely to serve the real economy, not a narrow interest group.

It is understandable that, in the present economic climate, governments are reluctant to do more than tinker with the system for fear of incurring further costs—and the further wrath of the taxpayer.