http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8543083.stm

Not exactly unexpected but I wonder if they are enough to bring down the banks. The crisis is not over yet.

With those sort of debts being written off, you have to wonder if the banks have been doing a spot of Hollywood accounting

Oh they have been doing that as well. The value of some of their assets is considerably lower than they are recorded at. They will repost losses for a few years yet.