The London summit is in the first week of April — which happens to coincide with US banks putting out first quarter results. It could be messy. Nationalisation is rising up the Washington agenda. There is a chance — albeit small — that Obama will have to seize the banks around the time he’s due to hob-nob at the G20.
Here’s some background from Ed Luce:
The time for biting the bullet may also be fast approaching.
In early April, big institutions will publish their first-quarter results. If the intervening Treasury stress tests have not by then revealed the true state of their balance sheets, then their first-quarter results may do so.
“The first week in April – that’s when the children’s party is over,” says Chris Whalen, co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics. “That is when the obvious will become apparent.”
It is a long shot. But one or two observers in London have already noted the tricky timing. The shock to the US psyche of its president nationalising big banks will be considerable. Could he pull the trigger from London? Or at the Nato summit after that? Probably not. He would need to be in Washington. It is unlikely, I know, but there’s a outside chance that Gordon Brown’s big summit could be missing its star attraction.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey