The seemingly-opportunistic bids turned out to be an ill-timed move to gain top-shelf I-banking status, as the sector never got its footing back after the financial crisis that liquidated Lehman.
Other I-flex products handle more specialized banking needs.
The first - well documented in the excellent Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed - was when World War I threatened to crash the national banking systems of the combatants.
There are many paths into the VC world, but they can generally be lumped into two categories: (i) serial entrepreneurship, and (ii) tech-oriented investment banking.
In Europe I've seen countless mobile banking ideas over the last decade - from the soft drinks machine in Helsinki where you paid by SMS, to the phone which doubled as a travelcard for London's transport system, and innumerable schemes involving Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
It might seem churlish to single out Barclays for this criticism, especially since I know that virtually all the other major banking institutions involved in money-laundering, LIBOR manipulation and all the other unethical and illegal activity over the past five years, have similar codes or principles of best practice in place and claim to link them to remuneration.
FORBES: Is Barclays Going To Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is On Performance Incentives?
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards is deliberating on its final report, which - I am told - is unlikely to be published before June.
And it was in that context that I was sworn into office almost four years ago, at a time when the banking system was melting down, at a time when -- the month I was sworn in, we lost 800, 000 jobs, the worst crisis since the Great Depression.
WHITEHOUSE: Remarks by the President at Campaign Event -- 40/40 Club
What's more, Italy may have to fork out a few tens of billions of euros to recapitalise its banks - which is less than Spain's banking bill but rather more than the banking liability I face.
"They react in emotional ways, so when the banking crisis hit, instead of dealing with it over the last decade -- which I've been begging and pleading for them to do -- they wait and, 'Oh, there's a financial crisis, ' " he said.
Both said that monetary and fiscal authorities should outline how they will step back from the rev-it-up policies since the global banking crisis, in order to achieve sustained, noninflationary growth (i.e. no bubbles).
And, according to my sources, the FSA is broadly saying to the Co-Op that it has to decide whether its future is in banking or in supermarkets (although I am sure the FSA would deny putting it in such stark terms).
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