Adam Lent of the TUC has asked an obvious question following on from my blog about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac relying on deferred taxation as part of their capital structure. As he puts it:

"Deferred tax" was a key part of the work Richard Murphy did for the TUC in The Missing Billions. The pamphlet critiqued deferred tax for the vast sums this technique denies to public funds. The fact that it may also have played a part in the current global crisis is obviously of enormous importance.

How many UK banks are playing the same dangerous game?

Does the regulator know?

Are they assessing it?

I don't know the answer. Does anyone?