It's an unwelcome announcement..one which will upset the British public in its entirety..
But at least someone is finally telling us something closer to the truth..
John Varley, the Head of Barklays Bank, has warned the public that while credit for mortgages and small business will still be available to borrow.. the strictures on getting said credit will be far, far tighter..
"As soon as asset prices stabilise, then we will see the financial economy recover. And when will that occur? That will occur some time over the course of the next 18 months," said John..
'It's a painful process,' he went on to say, 'but one which must be endured..'
Indeed it will be, and indeed it should.. but it strikes one as odd, that the first of the government cash will go towards minimizing the banks own losses on the oil futures markets.. tied in to $100US/barrel. And then there's the gap left in asset values of all the homes repossessed to be brought into line..
Now, after that, perhaps in eighteen months or a couple of years, things should be back to 'normal' for the man on the street who wants that new car..
'Banker' will soon become as pejorative a term as 'politician'..
Back in the real world for a second now.. Housing prices fall another %30 before anything close to stability is achieved.. This again from John Varley..
And.. he expects the average householder who's last years £45thousand salary keeping him and his comfortably.. with a trip to the Maldives not an impossibility if they put a bit away.. will find themselves worrying about keeping the household intact..
And John's time frame is just a carrot to keep us plodding along and not breaking into a panicked gallop..
Watch the Pound Sterling rate with the Euro..same with the greenback and the loonie..