Business secretary Vince Cable has called the financial sector "a public good", though admitted it often falls short of this lofty aim.
Speaking at an event in London organised by the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI), the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham and former economist for Royal Dutch Shell (pictured) said: "Finance is a public good, but it doesn't always work that way." Part of the problem, he said, is a mis-match between the needs of long term savers and investors and the short termism of markets. "We have a very large pool of savings looking for long term returns. Then there are long term projects. How well does the system match long term savers with long term investments - not very...
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