You might think I should really get a life, but I've spent part of this Sunday afternoon reading the December 2010 Financial Stability Report from the Bank of England. This is not the world's most exciting or raciest document but it's not just one for finance nerds either.

To give just one example as we head into bank bonus season, chart 5.9 on page 52 tells me that the four major UK banks received a subsidy amounting to £100bn in 2009 from access to cheap funds via the Bank of England. Chart 4.3 on page 38 tells me that their profits in that year were £40bn and 2010 profits are likely to be a little higher. The Bank's Special Liquidity Scheme, providing cheap funding, continues until January 2012. Looking at these two charts, I ask myself where the profits which are supposed to justify a return to bonuses actually come from?