More black holes than outer space

Following the precedent set by RBS earlier this year the Co-op Bank have announced plans to raise £400 million though a new share issue following the discovery of additional costs related to past misconduct and poor documentation.

The scale of the bad decisions during that period means that some problems are still just emerging.

There have been repeated assurances that the banks were putting their houses in order but there is a growing feeling that many of the problems have been swept under the carpet rather than acknowledged and dealt with.

The recent fessing up by RBS and the Co-op Bank adds credence to this view.

It is hard to believe that we have seen the end of issues with the banks when we consider their recent history of financial mismanagement and sheer scale of incompetence.

There is no doubt that the internal controls of these institutions appear seriously deficient but there is a question mark concerning the obvious lack of professionalism on behalf of the independent auditors.