The Guards caught with their trousers down

This has me wondering if there is a single public sector organisation which hasn't deposited a huge sum in a failed Icelandic bank. Aside from the obvious question of where 'cash-strapped' public sector organisations have got approx £1bn of our money from to invest, others are wondering why there is a preponderance of public sector failures here, why they chose to invest, and continue to invest, in a banking system described last year as the most highly leveraged in the world.

The answer, to my mind, is obvious - it wasn't their money, so they didn't give a shit. I'm sure that they believe that the taxpayer will always be called on to bail them out, so what's the problem if a billion is lost here or there?

This quote made me laugh:

The commission said the deposits were in "full compliance" with their guidelines "on prudent investment".

They put £5m into the bank in July this year. Burning Our Money has been keeping an eye on it, with good articles here and here. The information was there, it didn't take a genius to see it, just an interest in protecting the taxpayer's interests. I imagine their guidelines on "prudent investment" are about as rock-solid as Gordon Brown's.