Cui Bono ?

The concentration of economic / financial power on Wall Street / London /Europe just grows daily. It may look like a financial crisis from down on the pavement but from the some 39th floors it looks real good.

If you seek the author of a crime the Ciceronian rhetoric goes, look to see who benefits.

Well the Titans of the Financial World got just that little bigger and often with funds supplied from Spain - Bank Santander now areprobably the biest private hiolder of mortages in the UK ownong Abbey Life and nowAlliance Leicester and having had the £14 Bn of depositors funds thrown at them along with £4 Bn from the Bank of England to cover deposits unsercured by the FSA scheme.

Mitsubishi UFJ (MTU), Japan's biggest bank by market capitalization, is closing in on a deal to buy a 20% stake in Morgan Stanley (MS) for $8-9B 9( now, remember a regulated retail bank) . An announcement is expected shortly.

Sacks of Gold, ( now, remember a regulated retail bank)has US$% Bn from the Sage of Omaha with maybe another £5 Bn in his saddlebags for shares - plus the proceeds of another US$10 Bn share issue.

Fortis whom we mentioned on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Fortis Bank makes €8 billion provisions and Chairman talks of US "meltdown" ..Citigroup, GM ... when we suggeste dthey were due to explode, finally have - and spite talks of a BNP Paribas take over have had to be part nationalised with money from the Belgina / Dutch and Luxebougois taxpayers.

Belgium's largest financial-services firm, has taken on board a US $16.3B rescue fundin biggest European bailout since the "credit crisis" began. In exchange for the capital, Belgium will receive a 49% stake in Fortis' Belgian banking unit, the Netherlands will receive a similar stake in the Dutch banking unit, and Luxembourg will receive a 49% stake in convertible-shares in Fortis' Luxembourg banking unit. Fortis will also sell its stake in ABN Amro's consumer banking unit, but no buyer has been identified yet.

In the UK Alastair Darling has unveiled Gordon Browns secret plan to becopme the largest owner of UK Housing stock by now adding the massive portfolio of buy to let properties in the UK.

Whilst the Conservative Party unveils a £1 BN plan to cut the Council Tax by £1.40 a week he has pissed away £4 Bn on shifting the massive depositors base to Bank Santander ( who pay a nugatory £400 MN for the privilege - half the Market Cap at closing of 20pon Friday) (Forbes Santander Strikes Gold--Again ) plus a 197-strong branch network of Bradford & Bingley ...whilst Alastair and Gordon, ever the smart money guys have spent a further further eye watering £41 Bn on behalf of the tax payer for their septic loan book .

This makes Mr Darling the UK's biggest landlord. True to socialist priciples as now presented this is to provide housing, not for the needy, the essential workers ... but for those attracted by the tarted up properties Sarah Beeney style and to secure an income for the newborn wannabe rentier classes of middle England..

If there is a bright spot for the UK taxpayer the Guradian offers one - Under the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 – passed in February as part of Northern Wreck nationalisation the government can claw back any losses from the UK's financial services industry.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is borrowing £14bn from the Bank of England to finance the deal - under which the government takes control of £41bn of mortgages while Spain's Santander pays just over £400m for B&B's branch operations and savers - and £4bn from the taxpayer.

The first payments on this loan will fall due September 29th 2009 , when the industry will face a levy of around £450m - a massive increase on this year's £5m levy.

The FSCS has confirmed similar interest payments will be levied again in September 2010 and 2011, which means servicing the BOE loan alone will cost ion exces of £1bn to the uK banking industry - stability ... at a price.

Darling admits his fleet of housing stock may no be thes best ..... "It does have more buy-to-let and self-certification mortgages - where, frankly, people just said what they earned and that figure was taken as fact – than we would like."