No time for dawdling

The UK must clarify the details of its “bad bank” as soon as possible. The government’s mega bailout has gone down like a lead balloon in part because there are no details on this crucial element of the plan. That makes it impossible to value bank stocks. Investors have feared the worst, pummelling RBS, Lloyds and Barclays into a pulp. This is setting off a dangerous new downward spiral in which the confidence of banks – and the market’s confidence in banks – risks being further undermined. The ...