Five years ago, your chances of meeting anyone with a working knowledge of the London interbank offered rate were slim.
Sub-prime, unless it counted as an arcane reference to second-rate meat products, had not entered the language. Credit default swaps – though this probably counted as prescient – were a mystery to all.
Money laundering was the province of movie villains. Bonuses, for most, were a bob or two granted to the lucky few at Christmas. The payment protection insurance (PPI) on your credit card or loan meant – didn't it? – exactly what it said. Quantitive easing was probably something best discussed with a doctor. Credit flowed, it did not crunch, and the euro was the future.
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