Last year we called for an impartial inquiry into the role of banking and the independent commission announced this week by the chancellor of the exchequer fits the bill in terms of remit and membership. Society needs banks but not the self-serving kind we have today. The commission has an opportunity to put this right. In doing so it will need to acknowledge banks' vital contribution and distinguish that from the clutter of other financial activities that banks have accrued and now encumbers the system. This is important work, for if the commission is successful it can help to solve society's riddle, “when is a bank not a bank?”
去年，我们呼吁对银行业的角色进行公正的调查。就职权和成员资格而言，英国财政大臣上周宣布成立的独立委员会完全适合承担这一任务。社会需要银行，但不是当今那种自私的银行。独立委员会有机会纠正这一错误。要这么做，它需要承认银行的重要贡献，并将之与银行逐渐形成、目前妨碍着整个体系的其它金融活动带来的混乱区别开来。这项工作非常重要，因为如果独立委员会取得成功，就可以帮助解决“银行何时不是银行”的社会谜题。