James Moore: Collared Cummings didn't act alone

Outlook It is tempting to greet news of a £500,000 fine and lifetime ban from the City for Peter Cummings with an unequivocal thumbs up. At last, a banker is being brought to book!

Mr Cummings certainly embodies some of the worst excesses that went on in the industry prior to the financial crisis, seemingly spraying mega-loans around like confetti.

Were these loans unauthorised, though? No-one is saying that. His integrity is not being questioned. Meanwhile, a lifetime ban doesn't matter much to someone who is effectively unemployable in the City now anyway.

Mr Cummings certainly deserves what he's getting but let's not cheer too hard. He wasn't solely responsible for the demise of HBoS but he's the only person being castigated.

His colleagues, who worked with him, and supervised him, won't face any sanctions. One of them, chief executive Andy Hornby, is now even running a real bookie, Coral, where the taxpayer won't have to pay up if it gambles and loses.