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THIS WILL BE my final article for TheJournal.ie. It has been a pleasure to write for you and share some of my thoughts and experiences but my time will be limited in the New Year and I have to allocate accordingly. I would like to leave you with some thoughts and advice on each of the areas that I have written about more frequently in the past, banking, government and health.
My career, short though it was, was in the banking arena that continues to bring us all such stress and concern. I have lived in Ireland for exactly ten years now and have experienced the highs of the boom and the extreme difficulties of the bust that followed and unfortunately still continues to linger.
I’ve also borne witness to the way that the banks completely ran away with themselves and ignored hundreds of years of traditional banking wisdom, aided and abetted by an incompetent control system. Nothing much has changed since my day in the pinstripe suit. Banks clearly remain reckless, think largely of themselves and are so focused in the pursuit of generating income that they remain blinkered as to how their action/inaction are affecting others.
It’s time for that to change but I really don’t see too much evidence of that happening. Banks need controlling but nobody seems up to the task. Anybody who moves in those circles in Dublin will tell you that many of those put in place to correct the problems have long since gone native. They are now as much a part of the problem as they ever were a part of the solution.
“The tail continues to wag the dog”
Governments across the globe fail to stand firm when it comes to controlling the banks: they simply don’t understand and the tail continues to wag the dog. Income generated through financial markets is colossal and governments tread on eggshells when dealing with the banks. This has always been part of the problem.
Anybody who thinks banks care should think again. HSBC have been fined £1.9bn and UBS £1bn just this week for wrongdoing in the financial markets. They shrug them off as though they are nothing. Banks need challenging. If you don’t do it yourself then nobody will do it for you.
Think of a banker as no different than any other sales person. They have product to sell, they are taught how to sell it and their success is based on the quantity that they sell. Not on whether it is the most appropriate product; not whether it achieves what it is supposed to and certainly not on whether it offers you a degree of protection – they are only interested in the sale.
Just think of PPI, 100% + mortgages, buy to let and endowment mortgages. All the greatest thing since sliced bread when they were introduced but all either failed spectacularly in crippling you individually or are now subject to legal proceedings. There are many others! So empower yourself, get informed and ask those searching questions.
“It’s time to say the debt will never be paid.”
On the plus side, AIB have started to talk about debt forgiveness: in their words, “where appropriate”. I wrote about this is one of my early articles. It was then and still remains the only solution to the problem.
But for that you need a government with a backbone. A government that has the strength of mind and conviction to say ‘No’. Whilst the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte has stated that the €3.1bn Anglo promissory note will not be paid in March, there is far from widespread agreement; from what we have seen he stands largely alone. It’s time to say that it will never be paid. On the one hand we have large multi-national banks being handed billion pound fines, on the other we have a nation, crippled by debt being forced to repay €3.1bn. It just doesn’t seem right.
Ask yourself, Where do those fines go? The answer is back into the system to pay for regulatory and supervisory bodies that fail spectacularly to do their jobs time after time after time.
“Those who bailed out the banks see no benefit”
As austerity bites to the knuckle, soup kitchens spring up around the country and children are sent to school hungry. It just seems so terribly wrong. The same financial systems that were bailed out are handing down astronomical fines yet those who bailed out the banks see no benefit – it’s no great leap to suggest that certain fines are being paid indirectly with bailout money.
And finally, as much as Christmas brings joy to many, it does bring difficulty as well. Numerous stories of suicide have been in the mainstream media in recent weeks. I’d just like to reaffirm that there is always hope, there is always a future and something to look forward to.
It’s not always so easy to see but communicating and talking about your problems will keep you safe. The New Year looks better than those that we have seen in recent years. There are very clear signs that we are turning the corner but the path remains very difficult.
I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
Yes the banks went crazy, driven by their shareholders for larger profit, a regulator that was out to lunch fueled the craziness, but ultimately it is a personal choice to take on the overwhelming debt. Can we have an article where someone blames themself for the mess that they are in rather than bankers, regulators, IMF etc…
It’s easy to blame the banks and there is certainly a lot to blame them for. Admitting that it was a mistake to add the BMW and a property in Bulgaria to the mortgage is a bit more difficult!
Richard we were just buying a house to raise our family nobody new that’s things were going to change so much and there are hundreds of thousands like us normal people not high flyers!!
People made decisions based on their employment and income. The fiscal policies of successive governments, have created trading conditions which make it impossible for SME’s to hire, wages have been driven down, redundancies sky-rocketed.
People thought that they were getting expert advice, people were told that the debt they were taking on, was indeed manageable, they had the right to assume that the regulators were doing their jobs properly.
They applied for mortgages, the numbers were crunched, they were encouraged and they were blindly led by the so-called experts and professionals.
Reg, Joanne, Chris, all fair points. But Chris, people´s incomes just simply did not support the borrowing, people were living champagne lifestyles on lemonade money. I moved to Dublin in 2008 to 2010 (banking I´m afraid to say), but it seemed as though people did not care what they paid for anything, whether it be pint of milk or a house, it was surreal coming to Ireland at the height of this (it was something like the ´tulip mania´ of the netherlands).
I do feel sorry for the people who bought a house at an inflated price (because it is the market price that must be paid), i can understand how they got caught up in it, but what can they expect now? Can they really expect to be let off the hook whilst people who did keep their heads pay for it?
Lastly, the politicians were completely incompetent turning a bad situation even worse, whilst paying for good advice that they did not take (Merrill Lynch).
hang on there a sec reg me auld mate, thats not gone away. all we have done is pay off the gambling debts of 100 or so individuals and for that i certainly blame the banks, the debt the people have, they still have, in there 25 to 40 year mortgages and it will still have to be paid.
Frank, correct it has not gone away. Back to my point though, people have to face up to the fact that they made a bad decision in regards to debt, this they are culpable for, the state of the nation is not only down to bankers et al.
Richard, people were trying to house their families, and the prices paid, were the going rate. you couldn’t by a house at anything other than the market rate.
I accept that there were people who as you say , lived champagne lifestyles for lemonade money, but these, along with developers, bankers etc, are the people who drove the price up for the ordinary consumer.
If you want to buy a family home, you go to a bank with all your financial details, the bank then either agrees to mortgage you or turn you down.
As I have said previously, people thought that they were acting on sound, accurate and professional advice. Debts that were manageable ,became unmanageable due to any number of reasons, redundancy, USC implementation,rises in the cost of living …………..
I am not saying that some people didn’t borrow recklessly, but most people just wanted a home to raise their families in,and the banks agreed that it was manageable, the catastrophic changes which occurred in our economy were not caused by these borrowers,but they seem to be the ones shouldering the burden.
Blindly led to one of the biggest decisions of ur life 2007 i went to the bank under the advise of my boss and was offered a mortage that was working out at 1200 per month for 35 years i just walked out there was no way i was paying that regardless of what my wages was
Best decision i ever made pity alot omore people didnt do te same thing
@Richard!!!
At present it is clear to every objective human being that banking is not working for the people – unfortunately the inherent problem in banking is the same as the problem in capitalism as a whole…
THAT the singular pursuit of profit (ignoring all immoral activity, abusive labour practices, damage to environment, unnecessary pollution, etc) is threatening to derail modern society not just in banking but in manufacturing, food production etc. The unwritten rules of capitalism encourage a “law of the jungle”, survival of the fittest mentality to make short term profits, regardless of unwanted side-effects.
They can’t pay it baby!
So the banks will need to cut a deal with them to allow them to pay a realistic amount based on current market values.
A lot of bankers on tonight, first two commenters anyway
@Dermot
Banking is there to make a profit, we all agree in that is simply how it works.
The broader discussion about Capitalism is interesting, and I would add to your point in that capitalism does not make us pay the ´right price´for anything, for example the true price of a hamburger is something like $25 when damage to the environment, health care costs, the low wages of the people working there etc… are all taken into account
@richard
my opinion is that the economy was manipulated by the fianna fail government and as sheep we followed. i have no problem struggling to pay off my debt and i honestly think most people in ireland feel that way. but as for the banking debt. its not mine its not any citizen in this country’s. we live in a free market economy but thats been manuiplated aswell. the banks should have let go to the wall but they were saved. why are triochets letters to brian lenihen inaccessable under the freedom of information act. where is the enquiry into the banking crisis, why hasant patrick neary not been tryed for treason, we as people want answers
@Frank
I understand what you are saying, I alluded to the government not taking advice, I believe that it was Merrill´s that advised them against the promissory notes and in particular honouring the bond holders (in particular that the bond holders get paid in almost every market on the planet is inconceivable). But this is all after the fact that people had over borrowed to begin with.
Borrowers/taxpayers cannot service their debts to insolvent banks. Banks that have refused to recognise the depreciating value of their assets which are dwarfed by their liabilities.
This is an attempt at the ultimate confidence trick. Keeping the doors of insolvent banks open on the backs of an increasingly improverished taxpayer.
i think we agree richard but as i said originally all that has happened is that we have paid the gamblers debts and thats wrong. we will still have to pay for the property mistakes. personally i think ireland will need a second bailout and the triochet letters are the ace in noonans hand. the banks have completely ignored the governments guidelines again and they dont have the debt provision for the coming mortgage crisis. debt forgiveness and it goes totally against my situation has to happen.
what happens when 200,000 mortgages default and people lose there homes
we could possibly get into the bizarre situation where we have 1.9 million people homeless and the state having to put them up and pay for it.
we need to get that money we paid for the bankers punts and rebuild our economy, hopefully from the European Stability Mechanism
we need to get 400,000 people back to work and let them pay there way
Frank
Things are dire alright and will get worse before they get better. Sooner or later the banks will have to take the write downs that they should have taken a long time ago but resisted due to their balance sheets). But there is a real lack of leadership, statesmanship and willingness to address the crux of the problem. People need to have money to spend again in order to get the economy moving, but there is an enormous moral hazard in letting people off their debts.
It is not about a rotten apple or two, the whole barrel is rotten. What about the large corporations such as starbucks and google (made EUR3.8bn last year and paid just EUR3m in tax through using Irish tax structures). That is money out of the coffers of european governments, how can this be allow to go on.
Frank
What netherworld to you occupy with the idea that if 1.9 million people lost their homes the State would have to house them.
My dear friend, in such circumstances there would be no State!
Frank
While your comment may have been merely illustrative it is still loony.
ok paddy mick rodgers collins who will house them
@richard
the money we have paid back needs to be used as a write down on our mortgage debt not our bank debt and thats essential, we have possibly 200 billion in mortgage debt and thats terrifying.
Many took out loans based on a current and expected future income, which both the lender & borrower agreed seemed secure. Then the economy crashed and incomes reduced or disappeared completely. I believe that once the banks based the loan on a continued secure income they must take a loss if the borrowers income collapses through no fault of their own.
It’s time for a mortgage strike in this country. When my 2007 mortgage repayments reflect my 2007 salary then it’s fair. A 1% interest rate increase will ruin many. Ticking time-bomb folks.
Reflect my 2012 salary*
The Red Cross hopefully.
Yes Richard personal responsibility or lack thereof was apart of the problem but so was the banks selling flawed products, zero internal controls, lending to those who obviously didn’t have the capacity to pay it back, rewards to those with the best sales figures, dressing up the loan books with both bad and good loans and selling these “AAA” products to other investment banks…subprime loans, zero consequences for those at the top when it all failed, no regulator and a government so far up developers backsides, profit driven drugged fuelled insanity. It’s so easy to point the finger at the citizen but stop and think who sold it to you. Remember the snake oil salesman who rolled into town with the cure all elixir. And finally most people just wanted a home, which due to the free for all lending caused prices to sky rocket. Some off us, and I include myself have been lucky enough to have bought before prices started to go stratospheric, others were not so lucky.
Your mortage wont be written down to reflect your 2012 salary in the real world stuff like that dose not happen you were big enough and old enough to take out the mortage its your responsibility to re structure ur loan with them
Exactly right…most of us were not speculating!
Good article , I have enjoyed your insights and take on things in the various articles you have written , pity thats the last , good luck in your pursuits , won’t be holding my breath for the financial institutions to face up to the problems anytime soon , a crisis that started in 2008 and they still havent actually grabbed the nettle , most the comments about forgiveness are spinning , they are buying time using the ostrich strategy hoping things are just gonna get better themselves , the problem is only getting stretched out ,unfortunately the bailout gave them a lifeline when actually a crash and fail might have given a shorter sharper shock to the entire system here and then a serious rebuild effort could have started , its death by a thousand cuts this way by the looks.
Let’s get this right. This guy is calling for the Government to act with conviction. What a damn cheek. This is the guy with the conviction. He was convicted and jailed for massive misuse of his employers funds and that employer just happened to be a bank!
I have come across this guy on a couple of occasions and the one thing I would never accept from him is advice.
Why not address his valid points instead of a personal attack on the man? He served his time and it should be remembered that he was a trader not a director in Barings and is more than qualified to offer an opinion on the subject.
His points, in particular the one about the tail wagging the dog are spot on and people in this country are waking up to this.
wasting your time rommel, for mick the journal is a vehicle for self obsession, hes made the few bob and has no worries, he just enjoys saying outlandish things and rubbing peoples noses in it, when he was paddy rodgers he was the same.
Sometimes Michael an ex addict is the best informed person to give advice to recovering addicts.
He done the crime AND HE DONE HIS TIME !! Which is a lot more than I can say for the Bankers in this country !! Because of them my mortgage interest rates keep rising my tax keeps rising the cost is living keeps rising !! It’s time they paid for their Crime and the government should grow a pair and do something about this !!!
“Ex-addict” implies reform of some sort.
Unless he has had a lobotomy in the last 12 months, I find it extremely unlikely.
Yeah, you’re absolutely right, the people are to blame!
10% fault of the people but 90% fault of the banks/developers/ politicians…
Just maybe, perhaps 10% of the people were at fault, but most of those comprise the top few percent whose snouts were in the trough during the boom & who have hardly paused since, there being no ‘austerity’ for them.
This group comprise the bankers, property speculators, lawyers, estate agents, politicians, senior media figures/owners & sundry ‘rent seeking’ parasites.
Where Nick Leeson says:
“……Income generated through financial markets is colossal…..”
What he really should have said is income EXTRACTED……they ‘generate’ virtually nothing.
Because these ‘financial markets’ have grown to such a size (& the whole sector of parasites with it) that they can be said to provide little or no service or added value to the real economy of goods & services (the source of all actual wealth creation) whatsoever.
The whole sector of leeches does not need ‘regulation’ or some pittance of a ‘transaction tax’ but culling by some 90% or even more, reverting to that which a useful service to society & no more.
What is stopping this is the financial power of the sector that has effectively ‘captured’ democracy – politics, media & economics ‘thinking’ – most especially in the US, together with the very effective game of playing one country (or continent) off against another.
They will doubtless get worse following our failure to act. And ‘Gresham’s Dynamic’ will ensure that any who may be inclined to more honest or ethical activities will be further driven out of business, unable to compete profitably against the scammers.
Sorry to hear that this is your last article for the journal Nick. I’ve enjoyed reading your articles with your perspective. Best of luck to you in the future.
Some citizens should have exercises more restraint. Absolutely. No problem with that. However, an this is crucially important. It is the Governments job to ‘Govern’. The clue is in the title.
It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that the policies are put in place to ensure the economy does not implode. It is the Governments responsibility to ensure the financial regulator does his job effectively. How can it be MY responsibility? I’m an engineer, I take responsibility for the work I do but not anybody elses. I am tired of this generic ‘we all got a bit carried away’. No we didn’t. Many did, some a little and some not at all. If governments don’t endorse the regulations then chaos ensues. We all have personal responsibility not to speed on the roads but if it becomes a well known face that the government are no longer enforcing the speed limit then don’t be surprises if we see carnage in the roads.
The government didn’t govern, simple.
Best of luck for the future Nick Leeson.
With respect to the banks what will inevitably happen (what should have happened first day) they will fail. Their insolvency has not been reversed by bailouts and will not. The taxpayer, thanks to farcical government policies, has fallen victim of moral hazard.
The failing of insolvent companies is a necessary part of capitalism to allow for regeneration and new economic growth.
“The fundamental impulse that sets and keeps the capitalist engine in motion comes from the new consumers, goods, the new methods of production or transportation, the new markets, the new forms of industrial organization that capitalist enterprise creates.
The opening up of new markets, foreign or domestic, and the organizational development from the craft shop and factory to such concerns as U.S. Steel illustrate the same process of industrial mutation – if I may use that biological term-that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. This process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism.It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has got to live in.”
Joseph Schumpeter
The problem with the lack of rational regulation of all that rampant creative/destruction is written in the sands of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and rolling on to Syria, Iran and ??????
Not to mention the growing squalor of Greece, Italy, Spain…and there are soup kitchens in Germany, Ireland and the US too, along with growing homelessness and hunger.
Time for a rebalance.
6) Periods of creative destruction are inherent to Capitalism, indeed, essential to its long-term success. Just as we cannot fool Mother Nature for long–for example, by reckoning we can eliminate forest fires–we cannot manipulate the global economy to eliminate creative destruction. All the unprecedented efforts of central financial authorities to eliminate risk and instability are simply piling up more deadwood in an already tinderbox forest.
Financial risk is like water in a closed system: it cannot be compressed. As pressure mounts, the risk builds up and eventually escapes, often through whatever part of the system was considered “safe.”
Periods of great transition in which existing systems are consumed by creative destruction and a new paradigm emerges offer great opportunities as well as great risks.
If I had to summarize this book in a few sentences, I would say this: Money is a tool; make it work for you. Don’t invest in Wall Street’s false promises, invest with an unblinking eye on systemic risk. Invest in your own life and in the lives of others.”
Charles Hugh Smith
Money CAN be a tool.
But can also be a weapon. And in less than human hands, such as gluttonous corporate entities consuming human lives as careers to sustain their parastitc growth, we are dealing with cybernetic virtual velocoraptors devoid of conscience or regulation except as exercised through numerologically fixated shareholders demanding continual growth with no transgenerational consciousness, not even for their own offspring, and legalistic rules they can outloop with skyscapers of corporate lawyers.
We have seen in the 20th century the militarist competition and creative/destructive possibilities. The monetisation of all valuation has an inherently suicidal death-wish in its self-belief that ALL its destruction is beneficially creative.
It aint necessarily so.
At present, the money is not a tool. Those wielding it as an imperial weapon are in thrall to it, and sociopathicaly irresponsible in their cock-sure self-delusion.
‘..wrongdoing in the finacial markets..’=white collar premeditated conspiratorial corporate criminality.
Same as any other salesperson? Not quite, they control every resource from energy to food and, increasingly, privatised water. And they control them with the ethics of a smack dealer on steroids(though a lot of them are just coke-heads). The also own the arms industry frying up a fresh batch of global horror shows to drive their creative/destructive neoliberal capital churn.
‘..hundreds of years of traditional banking wisdom..’=funding and subsidising wars and laundering criminal looting for centuries, from the crusades to the Nazi art, from Switzerland to the archipelago of former britannic colony tax-haven laundries. http://www.treasureislands.org
C’mon, Nick, less with the euphemisms. You KNOW the history of the Rotschilds, Morgans, Rockefellers, Warburgs and HSBC opium funds.
Spades, please. Or are you angling for a regul8ory number in the new year?
Thumbs up again @ Damien, let them keep snorting away at the the coke line, its that very line which is coming close to the cliff edge.
yes the general public need to wake up to the fact there is serious shit going on, more serious i suppose than the debt repayments and austerity, these Rotschilds, Morgans, Rockefellers etc are never spoken about yet they’re Obama bosses and the reason Cameron, Sarkozy and Obama all went ape when Gadaffi wanted to change the payment of oil to the african dinar. Just look what happens to heads of states when ya stand up to the bosses. It’s even sadder for us all cos Gadaffi was one of a handful left fighting against the NWO and now he’s gone!! See ya Nick ya big lying, truth dodging fecker
Stop talking, Start doing! Time for a “Bank Run” take the power back to the people! Everyone draw out every cent from your account in cash regardless how little, and Everyone cease paying your dept immediatly. A “Bank Run” is feared so much in the US they made it illegal to incite one! We will see within 24hrs who is in charge! Us! Free yourselves!
Best of luck in whatever area you wish to pursue in the future.seems that attitude described by the banks when you worked in finance and now after the ponzi inspired financial crash was to carry on regardless approach is still evident.banks distain of the public and regulations or oversight is due in a major part to irish gutless political class of FG aka Frankfurt’s Gestapo with Lab and the other current part of the troika of traitors FF who are part if the golden circle of misery for the majority.recent performances by the supposed public interest ex TD’s appointed to various bank boards has shown it was just a PR scam.
Iceland’s approach has proved to be the right course of action.Swiss and Norway have had less of an impact of the financial crisis and less unemployment than most of Eu nations.swiss,nirway and iceland actually do more trade with every EU member state than Ireland. where most of its irelands exports go to non euro countries like UK and USA.
Irish politicians who are useless combination of failed teachers,solicitors and publicans who appointed their old boys and girls network similar to Oxbridge scenario in the UK.irish political class are traitors as they want foreign entity to run the country Germany or anybody else make the important decisions but still receive massive financial package associated with supposed leadership of a nation.
No such thing as a free market…. there never was and never will be….in any country.
Its sad that this is your last article for the Journal, your insight on matters are allways interesting so good luck in the future.
Get on the property ladder quickly they said.get a second property,it will pay for you in retirement they said.We are a nation that is corrupt to the core.
The way to look at the system we live in is to look at it like a lie, whether it be banks, governments,media owned by billionaires, organised religion and so forth and u’ll get a better sense of whats going on, that is to keep the status quo of a massively corrupt and unequal world where a tiny few benefit at the expense of the vast majority. People are copping on to whats going on in the same way that once someone points out to you a annoying noise that u hadn’t been hearing, that is all u can hear from then on. Its good that people are seeing through the bullshit and spin. Banks as they are now are a parasite on society, they benefit us in no way.
We were approved for our mortgage in 2008 when my now wife was 7 months pregnant, the bank manager told us just to put 2 people in the family on the application as we would be approved for a bigger mortgage (we got a mortgage for 300k – so nothing astronomical), stupidly we done as he advised, hindsight says we shouldn’t have.
Stupidity was the key.
Nope, Thatcherite good-greed for commissions and bonuses was, and remains, the keys to their buncha bankers kingdom.
You’re off-key.
The banks are not friendly anymore.I was in the bank the other day and none of the staff had a smile on their faces and when I got to the counter after 30 mins still no smile from the girl so where do we go from there.
I had a similar experience when I went in to my local bank last week. Not one person smiled at me. I guess the balaclava didn’t help.
Back to the pub I guess..
@Sean
The one you were wearing or the one they were wearing?
After standing in line for 45 minutes at a AIB branch on O’Connell St. to OPEN an account (to deposit several tens of thousands of Euro), I was told they were breaking for lunch and wouldn’t be serving those who were in line. I explained that I had been waiting in line for 45 minutes, and the employee said, “No you weren’t!” WTF?!?! No I wasn’t? What, was my watch wrong? Was the clock on the fecking wall wrong? Had I fallen into an AIB time-splice?
And THAT, my dear readers, was my introduction to the Irish banking system.
The young woman should have been fired on the spot.
HMRC have for 25 years been complicit in mortgage fraud by not asking borrowers to declare loan details on their annual tax returns. Thus avoiding, asking where the money is coming from to service the mortgage ! Millions now trapped with problem of having self declared one incone to the lender and another to the Revenue.This fraud will expose a horrendous blackhole in many balance sheets unless they manage to cover it up !
Chris, I fully understand what you are saying about getting a house to bring one´s family up in and that the developers pushed up the prices. But I would challenge you on the point of people being told what is manageable or not, surely the vast majority of people can work out for themselves what is manageable and that they need to leave themselves some head room for the uncertainties of life. Obviously if people lost jobs and things of that nature it is understandable.
Richard, that is my point exactly, banks lend money to people whom they believe can repay, they don’t generally lend money to those who can’t.
If all things had remained equal,then people would not be defaulting.
Things did change ,and changed dramatically,and only a few ,knowledgeable insiders knew the real story, even then they were in denial.
No ordinary lay-person could have predicted the changes , the collapses, nor did they know about the corruption.
People made decisions on the income and information they had and the banks agreed with them,under the auspices of a regulator that was at best,totally incompetent
Chris
Banks were trying to lend more, driven by their shareholders, but that is when people have the do the sensible thing (like Jay in the last thread), and just walk away from the possibility of financial ruin.
The banks made some terrible choices, this I saw first hand, and likewise they also need to pay some of the price here (but unfortunately in normal market conditions the bank, the money markets, its share and bond holders would have paid the price, but unfortunately for the people of Ireland the government has stuck them with the bill)
Richard, it seems to me,that you accept that banks did wrong. I accept that there may have been some people who borrowed beyond their means.
People cannot borrow, if others refuse to lend,
The banks were seen as the experts,the regulator as the ‘policeman’ and the government as being in charge. It was only after the collapse , that ordinary people were privy to the information that banks were lending more than they should have on the say so of private shareholders.
It is easy to say that people should have been more sensible, but like I keep saying, they thought they were, they were getting professional, expert advice. They were in effect , validated in their decisions when banks lent. The general public did not know what was going on in the sector, therefore decisions were made on false premise.
Nick, thanks for the insight and commentary. Best of luck in 2013 and beyond
What a pity this is your last article, Nick. Thanks so much for your insights which were informative and certainly helped me to understand exactly how this country has been financially destroyed by politicians, bankers and other greedy people. Are you planning to write more on a blog? Or perhaps you might try your hand at politics? :) Wishing you all the best.
Best of luck in the future Nick….I wish you a Happy (and hopefully prosperous ) New Year.
Nick, we need people like you in government. You have experience and Im sure you could help sort out this mess.
Now we know why there is so much mattress money in Ireland.
Well done on all your articles.
@Dermot
Banking is there to make a profit, we all agree in that is simply how it works.
The broader discussion about Capitalism is interesting, and I would add to your point in that capitalism does not make us pay the ´right price´for anything, for example the true price of a hamburger is something like $25 when damage to the environment, health care costs, the low wages of the people working there etc… are all taken into account.
Emmett o’Mahony-is right the only thing that would scare the banks is a run on OUR money ,not THEIR money….a
national day of RUN for OUR money……would be fun…..it would be great to see the banks really sweating !..Bertie Ahern would provide the biscuit tins for you to put your money in under the bed……Here’s to fun happenings !
Many thanks for all your articles. I wish you the very best in your future commitments whatever they may be. I think we have been privileged to have you here in Ireland.
Unless we understand what’s facing us, we stand no chance of overcoming it. The government should do this or that….. The truth is the banks and financial industry are bigger than any government, so therefor our government will do what they are told to do, not by the people, but the banks. Grasp that and you have some chance.
have your say