“Banks – a confidence trick that works… most of the time” – at the Weekened of Mistakes in Hay-on-Wye

This was one of three sessions that I did on banking and financial “errors” at the Library of Mistakes’ inaugural Weekend of Mistakes at Hay Castle, Hay-on-Wye, on Sunday 2 March 2024.

This event was titled “Banks — a confidence trick that works… most of the time” and I appeared alongside three other chroniclers of banking catastrophes — Jared Bibler and Ray Perman, and with Philip Augar in the chair.

Respectively, we have written books about NatWest/RBS; the Icelandic banks Kaupthing, Glitnir and Landsbanki; Halifax Bank of Scotland; and Barclays. I thought the quality of the questions was high — thanks for yours Izabella Kaminska — and the event was well chaired by Philip.

Thanks to the Weekend of Mistakes organisers and hosts, Russell Napier, Paul Greathbatch, Tom True, Alice Sherwood, Lyndy Cooke, Mari Fforde, the Library of Mistakes, Hay Castle, and King’s College, London.

The Weekend of Mistakes in an annual event held in Hay Castle, Hay-on-Wye, providing a deep dive into financial and economic history — and the lessons they hold for us today. The next festival will be held on 20-22 March 2026 .