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Church accused of short-selling after Archbishops attack City
The Church of England has accused of using short-selling tactics to maximise profits on its £5bn investments as City traders came under attack from two Archbishops for the recent financial crisis.
Think tank Ekklesia weighed into the debate in response to comments made by the senior clerics in the wake of the recent banking crisis.
Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu branded the traders who cashed in on falling share prices in troubled bank HBOS as "bank robbers" and "asset strippers", while Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams called for fresh scrutiny and regulation of the financial world.
But the religion and society think-tank Ekklesia claimed that in 2006, the Church Commissioners, set up a currency hedging programme that hedged against a fall in the value of sterling, effectively short-selling the British pound to guard against rises in other currencies.
The Church Commissioners' 2007 annual report revealed that its average return over the last decade was 9.5 per cent per year.
Jonathan Bartley, co-director of Ekklesia, said: "The archbishops should be extremely careful when attacking city 'bank robbers' for short-selling and speculation."
Mr Bartley suggested that the Church of England should invest its money in institutions such as co-operatives, friendly societies and housing associations, and to work for the good of society in return for a slightly lower profits.
Short-selling involves a trader selling borrowed shares, gambling on a fall in price which would allow them to buy the shares back more cheaply, and so make a profit on the loss.
A spokesman for the Church denied it was involved in any short-selling and said the currency hedging programme was aimed at protecting its investments rather than speculating.
Dr Williams has called for fresh scrutiny and regulation of the financial world, while Dr Sentamu has told bankers the market system seems to have taken its rules of trade from Alice in Wonderland.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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