It is always darkest before dawn

It is frightening to witness the collapse of so many iconic international banking giants. More frightening, these respected institutions have been so easily sucked into a culture of irresponsible lending for so long without anyone within their own community recognising the danger signs.

The sight of US President George Bush, candidly declaring on American TV his country is on the brink of financial armageddon does nothing to quell the flames of the hysteria rippling through the global economy. That foreign banks are picking up the remains of what used to be household names at bargain basement prices, does not give any relief to those whose hard-earned cash is held in what was once perceived as hallowed ground.

It is a sorry state of affairs when our own banks can't trust each other. Forgive me if I detect a sense of deja vu, but not long ago a myriad of well-known insurance companies folded, merged or disappeared forever from the financial horizon. The core problem (arguably) was not greed but complacency. As large insurance companies mull over whether to pay reattribution rights to their policyholders (one has already committed), I wonder if it will all come back to haunt them. As they say: "It is always darkest just before dawn".

John Clark, IFA, John Clark Financial Services, Dumfries