Ha Ha, And these characters want to take over the conveyancing 'market' (note not service anymore). And I think I would advise them to ask Mr. Brown whether "...he's got a nice Serious Fraud Office to sell us Guv...." Ha ha ha ha ....

Pete Balchin, Solicitor , Bristol, UK

How strange none of these technical glitches have caused problems in the past. Its a bit like the debtors 'cheques in the post' excuse, and twice to the same bank. Not a sign to inspire confidence.

Dudley Holley, Thorpe Bay, UK

Creating more and more future inflation that we will all pay.

gian piero , d'amico, italy

I feel sure one of the main actors will get a knighthood. The Peter Principal and Buggins Law still reign supreme in the City.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Tx

£1.6 BILLION!!! .... and if I inadvertently go beyond my overdraft limit when one of my cheques is presented for payment with no CLEARED funds to meet it (even though those funds may technically already be in my account) my cheque is bounced and I get charged thirty quid for my trouble!! The vast majority of bank customers have no idea that the clearing banks run on only 5% liquidity levels. Therefore if there was a sudden run on the banks, due to a panic and crisis as in the 1930's, and everybody suddenly wanted to withdraw all their money, the banks only have enough liquidity to meet 5% of their obligations to customers. If such a panic did ensue, the government / Bank of England would have no option but to declare a "Bank Holiday", and the banks would remain closed - possibly for a number of days or even weeks, and customers would not be able to withdraw their cash. This situation did actually happen in the 1930's.

Skint, London,

As a lay member of the public I see our Bank of England (BOE)bailing out a commercial bank with taxpayers money. It is we that pay the price of pumping this liquidity into a cauldron of explosive financial arrangements. The BOE should be letting fingers get burnt with bonuses being scrapped for the inept lending behaviour that was driven by greed. TURNOVER IS VANITY, PROFIT IS SANITY, BUT CASH IS THE REALITY!

Steve Marchant, Torquay, Devon

It's strange that the bailout, despite not being an act of charity, just happened to come from the parent company of the troubled fund.
You'd think that with all the competition (and liquidity) around, they could have shopped around and got a better deal?

Ian, Gloucester,

The explanation for the requirement for the £1.6 bn given in an earlier report was that the need arose as a result of the Crest settlement glitch on Wednesday at 2.30 pm when that system was down for an hour. If this later report is correct it might suggest there could have been comingling of the Cairn finance with other settlements through Crest, rather than separate designated accounts. Banks tend to prefer their client funding requirements to be specific and not later switched between projects, though confusion in the reporting might be the explanation for any apparent dissonance.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

If they're really flush with liquidity then why borrow at such punitive rates?.. and twice in a month... and their head of Structured Finance has disappeared. It does look a little suspicious.

Albert Hall, Blackburn, Lancashire,

It is quite clear to even small investors like me that after Bob Diamond joined Barclays, risk profile of the bank has changed dramatically. All these deals involving hedge funds and special investment vehicles were based on high risk high reward scenario. But Mr Diamond who earns record bonuses in the City had failed to read the small print "prices can go up as well as down". Now it has emerged that ABN is likely to be out of reach for Barclays because of its share price performance. Increasing the cash offer is unlikely because the bank is approaching the lender of last resort for even small technical glitches in the clearing system let alone any large M&A deals. Indirectly larger banks like HSBC are gaining competitive advantage without even raising a finger.
Personally I think it is time for the bank for some blue sky thinking and come up with sustainble strategies for the sake of the owners of the business who are the real risk takers.

Kumar Kumarendran, London, UK

I wonder if any bank would lend me two billion dollars for a month or two? It is quite a safe proposition as I would immediately ask the bank of England for help if anything went wrong. Could I fail?

Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

'Capitalism without financial failure is not Capitalism but a kind of Socialism for the rich.' James Grant.

I would add; payed for by a massive injection of fiat currency. The next Greater Depression here we come. You ain't seen nothing yet!

Terry Candy, Croydon, England