What’s Next for Banks?

The fact is that senior Bank officials are hired hands. They have no sense of ownership, nor real responsibility for their people. Their only concern is their share options and bonuses.

I am President and CEO of a major UK training organisation. I am 61 years old. Even given the 3rd world debt problems of the 1980's I cannot recall a worse case of corporate greed in the banking sector than this. It was elementary training when I was a youngster that when a deal looks too good to be true it probably is...when bankers are 'promised' 26% return in an era of low interest rates, only the greedy and the foolish would accept such promises at face value. We are surrounded by greedy and foolish people.

Now the central banks are rushing to bail these greedy opportunists out. More fool them.

It's time to return to basic values. Well done Howard Gardner - you were right all along!

In the UK, there's a new growing movement towards corporate principles....www.employers-of-choice.org

Not before time.

sincerely

Nick Mitchell
President and CEO
The Training Foundation
www.trainingfoundation.com
ps; I am a great admirer of Gallup...keep it up guys....

Time for the banks to drop Gordon G's line of "greed is good". There is a fine line between capitalism and sheer greed. I go for smaller banks and have very gladly fired the larger ones. Bigger is not better.

What has largely been missed during this subprime meltdown is that America's credit unions have been doing business and taking care of their members without resorting to exotic mortgage programs. We continue to operate according to our mantra of "Not for profit, not for charity, but for service." The fallout we are seeing is the result of unscrupulose mortgage brokers taking advantage of some of our members and putting them in the position where now they are having to choose between keeping their home, car or paying the credit card bill. We are counseling and helping members and non-members to help them restructure debt and negotiate with their mortgage holders to avoid being foreclosed on. Credit unions have never cost the US Taxpayers to be bailed out, banks continue to be bailed out for their greed, yet bankers continue to attack credit unions as having an unfair advantage. With the bailout of Bear Sterns the bad practices will continue. Until bankers are forced to take the loses they cause with risky decision, nothing will change!