This thread is a great read. Rarely happens, but when it does happen it's quite the show.
I can see everyone's pov here. It's true that this doesn't amount to theft: by the time capital controls hit the money was long, long gone. Where did it go? Well, as the OP has said: to prop up the pretense of bankers that they're in business/making money and to prop up the pretense of politicians that they're solving problems. To pay for votes that are too stupid to matter but still regularly elect governments that are too stupid to help but still write up regulation that is too stupid to work but still empowers bankers that are too stupid to make a dime on the actual free market. A vicious cycle.
I can see the victim's pov here too. The situation pretty much is, they went to the doctor and found out they have canceraids. They're understandably distraught, but the doctor points out to them that this isn't something they just got, they've had it for months, maybe years. This may be true, but the poor victims
didn't know about it now did they. Nobody said "oh and by the way, deposit your money here or in the fire, same thing". Of course nowadays they are starting to:
A bit of odd behaviour from that Unsinkable Bank Santander. This circular was sent out to all its lucky customers during the last 48 hours. Entitled 'IMPORTANT CHANGES TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SANTANDER BUSINESS CURRENT ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS' (like what people just lost 85% of the value in Cyprus) it notes what the changes are 'For businesses with a business turnover up £250,000.' That's SMEs to you and me.
Especially notable is Para 1(b) which now reads as follows (my emphasis):
'1 b) Your Money
Any money held for you in an account with Santander UK plc will be held in its capacity as a bank and not as a trustee. In accordance with FSA requirements we areobliged to notify you that the client money rules on money do notapply to a Banking Consolidation Directive (BCD) in relation to deposits within the meaning of the BCD held by that institution. As a result, the money will not be held within the client money rules of the FSA.'
If I can just put into English what this means, 'We hereby abrogate all responsibility for the business funds you keep with us, because we can no longer be trusted. In fact not only can we not be trusted, if those nasty Government people spot we're up the swannee and order us to restructure, all bets are off, and the chances are you'll lose the lot because they'll steal it for the bailout. Ithangyew.'
~
sourceOh but wait...it's illegal in most of the "civilized" world to keep your finances as cash. A company can't pay another company $125,000 in the shape of twelve and a half packs of a hundred bills each. There's significant fines should they try.
All companies are legally required to use banks. So...banker going "fair warning, if you use us we'll lose your money" and politician going "you have to use them". This is an exact reimplementation of the soviet revolution, the small business owners are being "dekulakized". So there's not going to be an economy left, you say? No big deal. Prepare for Ukrainian-style Holdomor (which, incidentally, was just as bad an atrocity as the Holocaust, it's just that the jews like communists and dislike national socialists, and so you hear a lot about Hitler but not so much about Stalin).
It's what it is.
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