MP CALLS FOR BANK TRANSPARENCY

THE news that hundreds of people will be losing their jobs at the Corus plant in Llanwern is a painful reminder of the perilous state of our economy, said Monmouth MP David Davies today.

Mr Davies said he hoped the Welsh Assembly Government would stick to its pledge of helping those made redundant, but warned of future difficulties as the global recession tightens its grip.

"This is a bitter blow for the hundreds of hard working employees at Corus, who are going to find it increasingly difficult to find new employment in the current economic climate," said Mr Davies

"It's inevitable that we are going to face more job losses over the next couple of years and I hope that people who have worked all their lives and paid into the system will be treated with the decency they deserve.

"It's too simplistic to blame the credit crunch on bankers in the US. Regulation of the banks in the UK has been too lax ever since the Financial Services Authority was set up in 1997 and responsibility was removed from the Bank of England. As a result many banks in the UK have behaved in a grossly irresponsible fashion.

"There has been an outcry in the media recently about salaries and allowances paid to Members of Parliament, some of which has been justified and some of which has not. Personally, I have always published details of allowances I have claimed long before it became necessary to do so under the Freedom of Information Act.

"Given that several banks are now in receipt of large sums of taxpayers' money, I think it only right that their directors should be subject to the same level of transparency as other public servants, such as MPs. I have therefore written to the Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Northern Rock asking them to publish the salaries and expenses of every member of the Board of Directors.

"We have all been affected by the banking crisis and those running the institutions which have failed should not be living the life of Riley whilst taxpayers and those made redundant, partly as a result of their folly, suffer."