Collapse of jobs in banking

Barclays are set to shed 2100 jobs. Other banks are also shedding thousands of workers. It seems that most banks are not using the bank bailout money to employ staff and to lend money, and instead are kicking loyal staff to the kerb, into one of the worst job markets in history. Worldwide, banking is losing hundreds of thousands of workers. A look at the UK employment website Reed, shows that they are currently only displaying 1826 vacancies for banking. There were 5 HSBC jobs on offer , all for the position of salesperson, which paid £14,000 - £15,000! Happy job hunting, to all of you unemployed bankers out there!

In 2006, the 5 biggest UK banks made record profits of 32bn! Where did all the money go? It was mostly loaned out again recklessly, and insurance was taken out with other banks to cover their risk. Nobody foresaw all the banks "going into meltdown" simultaneously, and it shows that even a fantastic profit sheet (for individuals and businesses) can be totally devastated by borrowing too much money, and by investing recklessly.

The banks failed because they did not rely on their own reserves of money, and instead borrowed from other banks, and also loaned money out to peole who had difficulty paying it back (i.e. the over-inflated housing market). The banks seemed to be seeking profits on paper only, and not definite money in the bank.