Right second time

The UK’s “bad bank” finally looks credible. Last month’s false start sent bank shares and sterling tumbling. Investors feared much of the sector was about to be nationalised – and that the government’s own finances would be overwhelmed. The government’s more detailed scheme is much better thought out. It looks capable of regenerating the industry without fully nationalising banks or putting too big a strain on the public finances. This isn’t a pure bad bank scheme, in which troubled assets would...