Tuesday, August 23, 2016

The Basel Committee, Financial Stability Board and other frightened risk adverse bank nannies, they mandated stagnation.

When you allow banks to hold less capital when financing what’s perceived as safe than when financing the risky; banks earn higher expected risk adjusted returns on equity when financing the safe than when financing the risky; and so you are de facto instructing the banks to stop financing the riskier future and keep to refinancing the safer past… something which guarantees stagnation… a failure to develop, progress or advance… something which guarantees lack of employment for the young and retirement hardships for the old. 

I would prefer not to distort the allocation of bank credit but, if I had to, then I would try to ascertain that bank credit goes to where it could do the society the most good; in which case I would consider basing these on job creation ratings and environmental sustainability ratings, and not on some useless credit ratings already cleared for by banks with the size of their exposures and interest rates.

PS. If you want more explanations on the statist and idiotic bank regulations that are taking our Western society down, here is a brief aide memoire.

PS. If you want to know whether I have any idea of what I am talking about, here is a short summary of my early opinions on this issue since 1997.