Compared to the Basel Committee’s, Thomas Gresham’ manipulations seem minor.

Sir, Jerry Brotton in reference to John Guy’s biography of Thomas Gresham “Gresham’s Law: The Life and World of Queen Elizabeth I” quotes Guy in that “Gresham’s financial achievements werea harbinger of a world to come: one in which national sovereignty is answerable to the machinations of the market”. “Man with the Midas touch” June 21.

Greshham“halved the national debt in nine months in a remarkable manipulation of Europe’s markets that would dazzle today’s Brexiters”

I am not so sure of that. Slightly more than 400 years later, in 1988, with the Basel Accord, for the purpose of risk weighted capital requirements, banks regulators managed to impose on a clearly not alert enough world, a risk weight of 0% for their sovereign and 100% for the citizens.

The resulting ability of banks to leverage so much more their equity with sovereign debt, reduced the risk adjusted interest rate they charged sovereigns and, of course made them so much more willing to lend to the sovereigns. More than thirty years have gone by, and yet there is almost no questioning of that 0% risk weight, be it by Brexiters, Remainers or financial journalists. 

Sir, I am certain that had Gresham heard about this for him most surely a feat, he might consider his achievements minor in comparison.

@PerKurowski