David Parkin on Bank of England bluster, the hardest challenge in business and the worst Christmas party in Yorkshire

AM I missing something here?

A senior figure at the Bank of England has said that the taxpayer bailout of UK banks should never happen again.

And Andy Haldane, the central bank’s executive director for financial stability, believes that while the £1bn Government rescue of RBS and Lloyds was “wrong and intolerable”, it was necessary.

So if I’ve heard that right, he’s saying it should have happened but shouldn’t happen again.

Hold the front page.

He was talking about events that happened over five years ago.

And I think he’s on pretty safe ground proclaiming such a rescue should never happen again.

If there is another bailout of the UK’s financial sector then Mr Haldane and his colleagues plus the watchdogs at the Financial Conduct Authority will be for the high jump anyway.

Apparently Andy Haldane is seen as a “rising star” at the Bank of England.

He’s been there since 1989 and has never worked anywhere else.

I think rising star at the Bank of England means you are under 50 and haven’t blotted your copybook.

This fashion for apologising for things that happened years ago appears to be growing. Politicians specialise in it.

It made me think that perhaps I should consider it.

But I’ve got enough on my plate apologising for what happened yesterday without delving any further into the past.

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WHAT is the biggest challenge faced by businesses?

I think I found the answer when I went to a very inspiring Prince’s Trust event last night.

It was the Yorkshire presentation evening for teams from companies in the region who had taken part in the Million Makers fundraising campaign for the charity.

Basically, groups of colleagues get together, come up with a business idea and then launch the venture to raise as much money as they can for the Prince’s Trust.

The evening was hosted by two Prince’s Trust ambassadors – young people who have been helped by the charity.

They told their stories, both admitting that they came from stable, loving homes, but things changed when their parents split up and home life became uncertain and unhappy.

I bet they never imagined their future would involve standing up speaking confidently in front of an audience of more than 100 people including the charity’s regional chairman, entrepreneur Richard Jackson, who has driven it to great heights in Yorkshire.

Teams from Communisis, KCOM, Sheffield Forgemasters and Virgin Media were each tasked with raising £10,000 for The Prince’s Trust and last night at a presentation evening held in the Leeds Audi showroom, they outlined how they had got on.

From a failed bid to launch a lottery to a pop concert at the Magna Centre in South Yorkshire, their ventures enjoyed mixed success.

But that is the reality of business, and they all made money for the charity, with the team from Virgin Media winning the Yorkshire Million Makers competition by raising almost £24,000 from selling high quality chocolates they had specially made.

When the teams came to highlighting the challenges they faced, one of them admitted that it wasn’t cashflow, achieving sales growth or morale that proved the biggest hurdle.

They said the hardest thing they did was trying to open a bank account.

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ONE major Yorkshire plc apparently holds its annual Christmas party after the festive season.

Nothing wrong in that, there is always plenty going on in the weeks of December before the Christmas holidays.

But the chief executive of this blue chip organisation apparently decided on Valentine’s Day as the date for the festive knees up because restaurants never have any group bookings then.

And most of the staff don’t come on the do because they are out with their partners.

Happy Christmas love.

Have a great weekend.