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Church finance role questioned after leaders slam markets

A City of London financial analyst has advised the (Anglican) Church of England to open a debate on the subject of its financial investments after senior church leaders called for tighter regulation of the markets, reports Ecumenical News International.

"If the church wants to get a reasonable return on its money, it cannot go for the lowest risk and the lowest growth," analyst Mark Speeks said in an interview with the BBC.

"It has to go for a broad spread of assets." His comments came after criticism of the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the church's spiritual leader, and its second most senior cleric, Archbishop John Sentamu of York, for their comments about the financial markets.

Sentamu had branded some financial traders as "asset strippers and bank robbers", while Williams said Karl Marx had been partly right in his criticism of capitalism.

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TAGS: City of London Anglican Church debate financial investments regulation of the markets Rowan Williams John Sentamu of York

[09/30/2008]

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