Banking as a matter of life and death

Those of us who lived through the global financial crisis of 2007/08 and its aftermath never imagined we would experience anything like it again. As the coronavirus outbreak threatens the very fabric of our economies and our societies, we should be very grateful that we did.

Consider for a moment if we had suffered the economic and financial shock of today back in 2007. Banks would have had no capital or liquidity buffers to withstand the shuttering of markets.