Flashing Banker Jailed, 'Super Bank' Rumours

The Daily Mail reports that 31 year-old Aldous Voice, said to be an Associate Director in FX with a major City bank, was sentenced to four months in clink last week, after admitting endangering the safety of a helicopter by flashing a five million candle power lamp from his kitchen window.

Voice, who lives close to the helipad on top of the Vanguard Building in Westferry Road, Canary Wharf, claimed that, in October 2006, he was using the lamp to scare away a group of yobs from his estate. Although he did not shine the light directly at the helicopter, the beam (which can been seen from up to 5 miles away) shone into the dimly-lit cockpit and temporarily prevented the pilot from seeing the instrument panel.

The court heard that the banker had a string of prior convictions, including the possession of an offensive weapon and ecstasy and drunk-driving. His lawyer, who said that the sentence was excessive and that an appeal would be lodged, said: 'He is a different person. He has become an employee in a bank and obtained first class qualifications, including a degree and a Masters. Since that time (when he was in trouble with the law), he has led a law-abiding life'.

Finally, German magazine Stern has reported that some of Germany's senior bank executives have been busy discussing the possibility of the creation of a 'Super bank', which would see a combination of Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank and Deutsche Postbank. Any such merger is said unlikely to play out until next year, however, as the negotiations will no doubt prove to be protracted.