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  Alexander. No - the situation was far more complex than that.
  
  In 1997 Brown removed the oversight of the Bank of England, something Mrs T refused to do. He introduced a tri-partied regulatory system that was ill-conceived in the first place so that the levels of necessary supervision was reduced.
  
  He also spoke at the annual Mansion House dinner, praised the banks and urged them to go out and win business for the UK and to take advantage of his changes.
  
  Some, repeat some, of the banks did what he suggested. Many did not, HSBC and Lloyds among the 'good guys' in this respect (Lloyds only got into trouble because they agreed to Brown's request to rescue the HBOS Group who were among the 'bad boys'.)
  
  Sadly the banks also suffered from other mistakes of Brown, such as the failed inflation brief to the BoE that ignored debt and also Clinton's equally foolish reforms that created the toxic debt problem the UK inherited because some UK banks (RBS largely) bought up American banks.
  
  It was a 'perfect storm' of events that led to the 2008 crash almost entirely caused by ill-judged government action, ours and Americas. The banks are far from innocent in this but the government carries most of the responsibility for creating the conditions that exposed UK banks to the American toxic debt which itself was down to Clinton's reforms.
  
  I have always said that governments are THE problem we have.
  
  I have very much simplified this but I suspect from past experience you still will not grasp it.

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