They create money. They speculate wildly on markets causing economic and social crashes.
My first six years of working life were in banks in the city of London; never could I, then, have imagined a banking culture that we have to day. At that time I thought I was in an honourable profession giving service of value. True it was boring work and I left for a more creative future; but I continued to respect the bank manager.
So, is this the real view of today’s banking?
They crash.
They create complex products that they don’t understand. They turn junk into triple AAA rated. They rig and manipulate markets. They launder money. They fund drug barons and warlords.
They lend to and invest in all sorts of organisations that cause social and environmental harm. They don’t lend money and stifle disruptive and sustainable innovation by only lending
to established unsustainable ventures.
They aid in the aggressive avoidance of tax. They aggressively avoid tax. They treat customers like cattle.
They ignore complaints. They bribe politicians and mislead regulators. They miss-sell.
They keep their profits private and nationalise their losses. They reward failure with massive bonuses.
They almost always get away with it.
It is hard not to have at least some sympathy with these views and a paper published by Blue & Green Tomorrow is worth reading
It is also fascinating that even back in the early C19th the US president had this to say:
“And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name
of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President 1816
Now is a good time to take a good look at how money is used and invested?
I know that Jan would be delighted to discuss this with you – here