The issue, which is a little bit more substantial, is whether all this diligent chivvying by Mr Bailey will be deemed by the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee to be adequately filling the hole in bank's balance sheets - a hole described by Sir Mervyn King in late November as "material" (see my previous pieces here and here).

BBC: Who can boss the banks?

To patch up the hole in its balance sheet the Fed would have to beg Congress or the U.S. Treasury for a bailout.

FORBES: Could A Federal Reserve Bank Go Bust?

That then increases the size of the hole in their balance sheets, and therefore the scale of the official rescue from taxpayers they will eventually require.

BBC: Spain moves nearer to full-scale rescue

In New York, the stock market is down, investors are withdrawing assets from his fund, and he has borrowed four hundred million dollars to cover a hole in his balance sheet.

NEWYORKER: Risky Business

In power since December, its new government has moved quickly to reform the labor market and cut public debts, but the total hole on the balance sheets of its banks has remained the big unknown.

CNN: Spain is bailed -- but questions remain

The only way to dig out from this ever deepening hole is through our national balance sheet.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Gere's character Miller has his own problems to deal with in Arbitrage: a mistress he's trying to keep secret from his wife, a hole in his company's balance sheet he's trying to hide from his investors, and a potential buy-out that looks on the verge of collapsing.

BBC: Richard Gere tackles the financial crisis