July 01, 2009

The annual conference of the British Banking Association looked less like a gathering of the Masters of the Universe than it did a garden party in a stockbroker belt To the untrained eye, the annual conference of the British Banking Association looked less like a gathering of the Masters of the Universe than it did a garden party in the stockbroker belt, the overdressed guests sodden with sweat on the hottest day of the year.

The industry strived to put its best face forward. Held in Merchant Taylors' Hall, a grand old dark wood-panelled building on Threadneedle Street, the only bankers taking to the stage were those that had escaped the worst of the crisis; HSBC, Santander and Standard Chartered. In fact, there were few if any delegates from the banks bailed out by the taxpayer, put off perhaps by the £399 cost of attending.