Ed Balls knows how to talk to bankers. Having been Gordon Brown’s right hand man and City Minister under the last government, he is well known in the Square Mile—and far more popular than you might think.
Earlier this month, Balls was to be found having lunch at HSBC’s private bank in St James. He was there to address the chairmen of the UK banks. Those present left this private lunch with the distinct impression that Balls was presenting himself as a restraining influence on Ed Miliband, and someone who could protect them from some of the Labour leader’s more radical policies.
Balls made clear to the group that he was a ‘sceptic’ of regional banking. He also assured them that having helped introduce an independent Competition Commission, he didn’t want to see government telling the Competition and Markets Authority what to do.
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