Industry leaders fear renewed banking crisis - survey

Investors are fearful of a fresh wave of bank failures, as well as a return to recession in the UK, according to a survey carried out by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) and PwC.

The 'Banking Banana Skins' report for 2012 is "unquestionably the bleakest we have seen in more than 15 years", the survey authors said. One UK bank director described the economic outlook as "terrible", with major concerns including the crisis in the eurozone, and mounting debt problems in many of the world's largest economies, linked to low banking confidence and a scarcity of credit. Brian Pearse, former chief executive of the Midland Bank and chairman of the CSFI said: "The biggest risk of all is that it will not prove possible to bring about an orderly reduction of borrowing by n...