Hollande wary of banks after rates scandal
FRENCH president François Hollande said that the spectre of the Libor scandal had increased international suspicion towards the banking sector, as he made his first official visit to the UK yesterday to meet with both Prime Minister David Cameron and the Queen.
“There have been a few revelations in Britain that mean we have to be wary in our respective countries,” he told reporters following a press conference by the two leaders outside No 10, saying that the scandal showed the need to closely control and regulate banks’ behaviour.
Though Hollande visited London in February during his presidential campaign, he did not meet the British Prime Minister. Tensions between Cameron and the socialist leader have heightened further after Hollande recently announced new tax hikes that could hammer British owners of second homes in France.
But yesterday Hollande, during an awkward exchange of jokes with Cameron, appeared to claim that holiday homes won’t face higher taxes.