"The New Financial Capitalism
Despite their reputation for being rootless cosmopolitans, the world’s banks will be only too happy to go with the mercantilist flow. As Adam Smith would be the first to point out, bankers were opportunists long before they were cosmopolitans. If the West’s politicians want national champions, then bankers will be happy to fund them. If the politicians want to replace free trade with mercantilism, then they will be there to offer shortcuts. And if somebody begs them to buy one of their rivals, that might be just fine.

From this perspective, UBS may quite possibly come to be seen as a first mover. It has just snapped up its main rival for under a 20th of its value a decade ago and secured a mass of state guarantees and a $100 billion financing backstop. In the US, it is notable that Warren Buffett, no stranger to a bargain, is once again offering his services to help the American government sort out finance. The chances are that his offer is not entirely based around altruism."