Over the past few weeks I’ve been speaking to some senior bankers about the financial crisis that’s gripping us all. One thing that seems obvious is that the one sector that is likely to make a lot of money over the next few years will be the corporate lawyers.

My reasoning is that the banks are beginning to argue over themselves over who was to blame for selling AAA assets to financial institutions that weeks later were assessed as being worthless. Who was to blame, the banks, the buyers or the rating agencies?

Then there are the law enforcement agencies such as the FBI investigating some of the “deals” and “Sell-offs” to see is some acted fraudulently.

What is interesting is that whilst the US authorities are taking action the UK Government is not instigating any criminal investigations. Perhaps the UK Government is too afraid of what they might find or perhaps they intend to let the US authorities extradite hundreds of our top bankers to face the courts and imprisonment. (Someone asked me last week if they would have a prison big enough).

In any event most corporate lawyers must be thinking that all the Christmases until 2020 are about to come early.

One has to wonder how likely it is that anger over the financial downturn will spill over into prosecutions of those bankers found to have been negligent, incompetent or having given themselves huge salaries and bonuses despite being aware that their companies were in trouble.

Reports that bankers have taken upwards of $300 million in salaries and bonuses have been greeted with some disbelief by both customers and politicians. Such revelations can’t generate sympathy for any banker hauled before the courts.

However, one has to question whether such a series of court cases might be more of a reflection of “revenge” as opposed to justice?

There is one thing for sure, that is that banks can be expected to be saddled with rafts of restrictive legislation in the future.