The Crosby mysteries

There is doubt about how much Sir David Crosby, who has been forced to step aside as deputy chief of the Financial Services Authority, genuinely believed in his bank's policy at the time he allegedly fired a whistle-blower.

In the Independent yesterday, Vince Cable was quoted as saying that at HBOS Sir James privately accepted the banks were taking risks. The banker was "smart enough to realise he was on a very dangerous treadmill", he said. In meetings with him, Sir James argued he would be "fired" if he changed HBOS's behaviour while other banks pressed on, Mr Cable claimed.

According to thismoney website: "[The London Evening] Standard also revealed today that Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable felt Sir James had also tried to silence his warnings over the looming economic turmoil."