Open trading account 
You might have noticed that Barclays declared that they will raise capital, mainly through a 1 to 4 rights issue at a deeply discounted price. By itself, this announcement is pretty significant, but it brings to a head a `quiet war` that has been rumbling on since Barclays turned middle east towards salvation back in the dark days of 2008.
The PRA (the newly formed regulatory arm of the Bank) has clearly set out its stall by insisting that levels of capital held by our banks should be (in simple terms) sufficient to protect the consumer against another 2008 style melt down.
By this action, the Bank is demonstrating to all regulators - past and present - that number one on its list of objectives is protection of the financial system against systemic failure. Nothing wrong with that. However, as always, these measures come at a price. The illustrious Liberal Democrat business secretary recently described the Bank as having a `capital taliban` at its regulatory heart. His point being that by forcing commercial banks to hold greater levels of capital, this thereby restricts their ability to lend to UK businesses, thereby inhibiting the pace of recovery.
So, the equation between protection of the country against `irresponsible lending`, and encouraging banks to foster the recovery by a more generous stance in supplying funding to business rolls on. But public attitudes hold the key here. Worldwide, electorates will not stand for another Banking crisis. The last 5 years have been grim, and no excuses would convince, should anything like a repeat ever happen. With that in mind, it is no surprise that the Bank come down on the side of stability.
A few more years of discipline from banks - worldwide - will have to be seen before trust from the public and from the regulators enables the `taliban` to call a truce!