The good news from BOE

The U.S. v. U.K. battle continues. Remember all that talk about how the taxpayer might actually see a profit from all these bailout efforts? You know, when the Treasury or the Fed or whatever sold all this stuff back to dumb moneyinvestors with a long-term perspective at prices higher than they paid? Well, The Bank of England is a bit ahead of US there.

The Bank of England revealed yesterday that it had racked up record profits of almost £1 billion in the year to February as its fee-earning activities burgeoned amid the global financial and economic turmoil. During a crisis that has brought some of the mightiest forces in global banking to their knees -- and some to collapse and oblivion -- the Bank emerged as having thrived while famed commercial institutions foundered.
Figures released yesterday in the Bank's annual report showed that in the 12 months to February 28 it raked in profits before tax of £995 million. This marks a more than fivefold rise from £197 million in 2008 and is the biggest figure since its establishment in 1694.

This little note after the main article made our day.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6315080.ece