It would be interesting to see the full cost to the US as well. And remember, the GOP is tripping over themselves to support Wall Street who brought on these losses. The Republicans are keen to block any financial reform that is proposed instead of supporting the American public or even the mild reform that the Democrats are supporting. More on the Bank of England report:
Andrew Haldane, the Bank's executive director for financial stability, said that taking into account the permanent damage done to the productive potential of nations across the world, as well as the immediate costs of supporting the banks and the recession, there is an output loss equivalent to between $60trn and $200trn for the world economy and between £1.8trn and £7.4trn for the UK.
He put the hidden cost to the taxpayer of the implicit support offered to the big UK banks at more than £50bn.
Mr Haldane advocated new structural controls on the banks, a policy at odds with the current views of Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, and the Treasury.
Mr Haldane drew a contrast between the "taxation" solution – making risky banking more expensive by raising capital requirements, an idea favoured by the FSA and the Government – and the "prohibition solution", backed by the Bank and the Obama administration in the US. Prohibition means the separation of bank activities across business lines.
