This just in from the central-bank-friendly folks over at the Central Bank Publications of the UK.
"Although people still think that commercial and investment bankers are primarily to blame, according to the latest FT/Harris poll of European public opinion 74% of respondents think central bankers were entirely or largely responsible (with less than 60% blaming regulators or governments)."
Our interpretation of the poll is that the European public believes that the financial crisis was caused undoubtedly by the commercial and investment bankers, but that the central bankers promoted the environment that allowed it to occur and had the responsibility for preventing it.
That is rather surprising, because Trichet and his predecessors have been as Jacksonian stalwarts compared to Easy Al and Zimbabwe Ben.
It would have been interesting to see the poll, and to have added a question about monetary policy and a return to 'hard money.'
A similar poll in the States, however, had very different results:
Q: Who is responsible for the financial crisis sweeping the world?
34% Whatever is wrong, Obama will save us.
33% Will they reschedule American Idol because of the President?
11% Sorry I'm in a hurry to buy 'supplies' and apply for a passport
22% Can I have a bite of your sandwich?
One might infer that the Federal Reserve and Wall Street have a much closer relationship with the mainstream media, among other things.
Central Bank News (UK)
The public starts to blame central bankers
Central bankers have had a pretty good crunch so far. Mervyn King came in for a lot of stick for being caught off guard at the beginning, when the Bank of England dropped the ball over Northern Rock, but as the financial tempest has gathered force, engulfing so many of the great names of finance, that episode has faded into relative insignificance.
At the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet has had a good credit war, appearing to take the cares of the entire world on his shoulders while maintaining his dignity. Ben Bernanke, like the others, has been seen to be innovative in devising innumerable new schemes to support the banking system and the wider economy. All have used whatever instruments are available to them, stretching their legal powers and mandates to the limit. As they had to.
Yet the forces unleashed by the crisis are so powerful all this could change very quickly. Already there is evidence that the general public is ready to pin more of the blame for the crisis on central banks. Although people still think that commercial and investment bankers are primarily to blame, according to the latest FT/Harris poll of European public opinion 74% of respondents think central bankers were entirely or largely responsible (with less than 60% blaming regulators or governments).
With the likelihood that the financial landscape to emerge from this firestorm, once the fog has cleared, will bear very little resemblance to the former one, it seems inevitable that central banks' mandates and modus operandi will also need to be recast. But that can wait.
