King gave repeated, public warnings about the dangers brewing in the UK and international banking sector – going as far as a Bank of England governor could, without risking accusations of spreading panic. He didn't have the detailed knowledge he should have had about the specifics of each bank's balance sheet. But that's because the bank supervisory role was with the (Treasury-controlled) FSA – which knew Gordon Brown wanted the lending boom to continue, in the misguided hope that the resulting "feel good" factor would make him the UK's most popular politician.