LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor MervynKing has vented his frustration at the length of time it istaking to restructure banks that were bailed out with taxpayers'money.
In a valedictory interview, to be published in thisweekend's Financial Times, King expresses few regrets about hisown conduct during the crisis.
However, in an implicit criticism of the government'shandling of events, he says banks that received state aid shouldhave been turned around much earlier.
"We're five years on, and still we're debating about howwe're going to restructure the banks, which have been receivingso much support. This should have been done a whole lotearlier," said King, whose term as governor ends this month.
The British government owns a controlling 81 percent stakein RBS after pumping in 45.5 billion pounds ($71billion) to keep it afloat during the 2008 financial crisis. Thegovernment also owns a 39 percent stake in Lloyds Bank Group.
King has already called for RBS to be split into a 'good'bank, able to lend freely to the economy, and a 'bad' bank whichwould run down the toxic assets - an option that might be putforward by a parliamentary committee next week.
Lloyds (LLOY)
