Lavish spending on lobbying is behind the banks' successful fight against
reform, says Edmund Conway in Davos
It's that time of the year again: the snow glistening on the slopes,
the smell of money in the air, the braying of millionaires echoing
across the mountains. For this is Davos week, when the world's
best-connected people come to the Swiss Alps to network, do deals and
try, according to the forum's entirely unpretentious slogan, to
"improve the state of the world".
One of the big misconceptions
is that Davos is all about star-spotting and self-congratulation: rock
stars and supermodels mingling with chief executives and hedge-fund
gurus. But the real story is what goes on behind closed doors, in the
private meeting rooms and hotel suites.
For the bankers who have splashed out a few hundred thousand dollars
per trip, Davos …