Those queues

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): A PS to my previous post. The images of people waiting to take back their savings reinforced the run because they made it seem it was hard to get their money out and therefore something was wrong. I've just read Chris Blackhurst in the London Evening Standard. He explains why he won't "shed a tear" for Adam Applegarth the Chief Exec of Northern Rock and reports, "It was Applegarth's proud boast that his bank's wages were 15 % less than those of a rival in the South East. He claimed that Northern rock was the lowest-cost operator in Europe." Well... if you are an underpaid employee in a branch that is also understaffed, are you going to help customers as quickly as you can or might you take your time and your revenge on your bosses as the line grows and grows? Northern Rock was once a mutual. Even if its staff have been churned, resentment at the greed of bonus-happy bosses is likely to be passed on. One depositor waiting to get her money out told a BBC reporter that there were just two staff in the branch handling the exodus.