Is that what the bankers said? Is there some collective banker mafia who chose to destroy the economy because we didn't hand over protection money when they came calling? No.

They were greedy and incompetent and we let them do it. No holding hostage. No extortion. No protection rackets. Greed and incompetence and lack of oversight and deregulation.

According to Alistair Darling the did act rather like that after the government had said it was going to bail them out.

I know they weren't literally gangsters - and as you say, we let them do it.