ECB chief warns on ‘financial gambling’

Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank President, told banks on the 15 October 2009 to return to their 'traditional role of providing a service to the real economy', accusing them of having focused too much on 'unfettered speculation and financial gambling'.

His strongly worded criticism, at a banking conference in Frankfurt, highlighted European policymakers’ fears that the recovery of the financial market is encouraging bankers worldwide to be­lieve life can return to how it was before the crisis – risking a popular backlash.

ECB: Speech, 15.10.09: Lessons from the financial crisis http://www.ecb.int/press/key/date/2009/html/sp091015.en.html

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