Banks - Bankers

[stringvest]

I can't work out if that's reassuring or not.

 

It's not.  you don't want my life.  

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Out of interest, what as? With a band, or as a DJ? I quite like Ian Browns stuff, so I'm quite impressed.

 

Yeah I often name drop him because people seem to love him, I've never actually been interested in his type of music so it isnt a big deal to me.

 

I was part of a band that opened for him. It was a hip hop band. He was pretty sound.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

It's not.  you don't want my life.  

 

Do you mind me asking what you do / who you work for? Just out of interest.

[Jairzinho]

Christ, that was fucking chilling.

[stringvest]

What did you do for the 970 before that?

 

I was doing God's work, removing all the intelligent and good looking people from New Zealand before the floods came.  Mission accomplished.  You lot are all going to a watery hell.  

[stringvest]

Do you mind me asking what you do / who you work for? Just out of interest.

 

These days, business development consultancy.  I work for myself.

[General Dryness]

I was doing God's work, removing all the intelligent and good looking people from New Zealand before the floods came.  Mission accomplished.  You lot are all going to a watery hell.  

 

Norfolk?

 

Seriously though, if its anything like Kevin Costners Waterworld, it'll be fucking ace. Bring it the fuck on.

[stringvest]

haha!  Surrey is pretty watery at the moment as well.  Nightmare.  

[Croque Monsieur]

I'm not arguing with you.  Well only a little bit.  We do still make trains, ships, steel and glass.  Just not enough of it to keep enough people in useful, reasonably well paid employment.    It is scandalous, but it's also global market economics.  Look at James Dyson.  Would his invention still have sold if it was £20 more expensive to make as it was manufactured in the UK?  Course it would.  It's all about maximising profit.  In that particular case, mostly for him.  

I wasn't taking task with you mate, just making a point. Don't get me wrong, if I worked in that system, sad to say, I'd probably take full advantage. It would an take iron will not to have your head turned.

 

The system, unfortunately, is rotten, and it needs to change. However those in political power, and those in the higher echelons of the banking fraternity, are all part of the 'old boys network' and will always scratch each other's back. Until that is broken, I can't see any significant change happening.

[stringvest]

See, those at the coal face (relatively speaking) are not to blame, unless you believe they should leave their jobs as a matter of conscience.  That would be like blaming rico for the way the energy companies are holding the country to ransom, or Monty for being part of a corrupt system fleecing the general public.  

[Croque Monsieur]

See, those at the coal face (relatively speaking) are not to blame, unless you believe they should leave their jobs as a matter of conscience.  That would be like blaming rico for the way the energy companies are holding the country to ransom, or Monty for being part of a corrupt system fleecing the general public.  

I fully understand where you're coming from. I work in the pharmaceutical industry - which has a less than stellar record when it comes to upstanding business practices.

[stringvest]

Christ.  Pharms make banks look like the oxfam shop.  That's where all the huge money is in the next 30 years.  Biochemistry and nanoelectronics. You heard it here first.  

[Croque Monsieur]

Christ.  Pharms make banks look like the oxfam shop.  That's where all the huge money is in the next 30 years.  Biochemistry and nanoelectronics. You heard it here first.  

I love sick people; doe-eyed kids with asthma, fat-arses with type II diabetes.

 

They're all keeping me in ale money.

[stringvest]

The guy who lives next door to me devises medical trials for a living.  Scary stuff.

[Croque Monsieur]

The guy who lives next door to me devises medical trials for a living.  Scary stuff.

A lot of clinical trials now take place in developing nations. If a few poor Indians or Bengalis get fucked-up taking your new drug it's no big deal - it's far easier to sweep that under the carpet than if it was being tested on Europeans or Americans.

 

Ben Goldacre has this shit nailed; his stuff is an eye-opener, even for someone like me.

 

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Ben_Goldacre

[KopOut]

 

Indeed. And when you fuck up, and you and your cohorts bring the whole rotten edifice to its knees, you can sleep easy because you know the government (of whatever political stripe) will be forced to pick up the tab, because your hateful industry has become so entwined with the welfare of the nation that you cannot be allowed to go to the wall.

 

At one time the UK actually used to make stuff, you know, trains, ships, steel, glass - the kind of stuff people need. Now lads who, at one time, would be digging coal out of the ground, are working in a call centre or fucking Costa Coffee (if they're lucky). Those who can't get a job are demonised in the right wing press as being workshy and criminal, whilst the real criminals go about their nefarious gobshitery in the Square Mile.

 

Politicians always take the easy route, whether it's right or wrong.

 

I don't actually think they are forced to pick up the tab at at all. The solutions lie in reversing the polices that brought us to complete deregulation of the banking industry in the first place. As well as so called 'investment banking', 'fractional reserve banking' has ceased to be the basis of our lending these days as well, in the commercial banking sector.

 

So both arms of banking are out of control, and, of course, commercial banks can dabble in investments, as much as they like.. In theory, the money supply can expand to what ever size banks want it to.

 

No, the Government over there in London, is doing what all government s are doing: they simply chuck the problem in the too hard basket, because lets face it, there are no incentives for politicians to do anything but maintain the status quo.

[KopOut]

Part two of our Banking 101 series, 'the money multiplier'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkAzDrrKkME&list=PLyl80QTKi0gPBcb32paMvXxcq7UUeJskV

[Rico1304]

Or Ricos. She'll end up tied to some train tracks while Rico twiddles his moustache and some fella holds up a card saying Muhahahahaha.

I wish it had turned into a sex party! One of the wife's other friends turned up last night, she's beautiful, as is the bankers wife (mines not too shabby either of course!)

 

Conversations that happened yesterday that I couldn't join in;

 

- boarding v day attendance at private school. Their kid doesn't board, it's still £11k a term.

- whether to keep the 2nd house in the country.

- where to go skiing this winter

 

Thoroughly nice people, just lucky with parents. I was the only one there last night that didn't go to private school.

[stringvest]

A lot of clinical trials now take place in developing nations. If a few poor Indians or Bengalis get fucked-up taking your new drug it's no big deal - it's far easier to sweep that under the carpet than if it was being tested on Europeans or Americans.

 

Ben Goldacre has this shit nailed; his stuff is an eye-opener, even for someone like me.

 

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Ben_Goldacre

 

Hitler got castigated for it.  It's a business strategy now.  

[mattyq]

See, those at the coal face (relatively speaking) are not to blame, unless you believe they should leave their jobs as a matter of conscience.  That would be like blaming rico for the way the energy companies are holding the country to ransom, or Monty for being part of a corrupt system fleecing the general public.

 

Monty laughs every time a train is late or an innocent punter is fleeced for a 4 grand season ticket or a doe eyed orphan is bummed by an evil, ginger train driver

[Section_31]

I think certain aspects of high level banking would be interesting, I don't think it makes you a cunt to want to be one. For me the parallels are there with Fleet Street newspapers. Some will be run like the Guardian and others will be run like the s*n. There's an element of having to fit in with an organisation's culture, but there's also an element of you being minded to want to work there in the first place.

 

Someone once described Murdoch as a cultural Chernobyl where English journalism is concerned, but I'd say Thatcher was the banking Chernobyl. It was under her watch that the yuppie Reagan era US banking culture was able to catch fire.

[stringvest]

I was a cunt before I left school Mark.  I'd be interested to know though what private sector businesses you think are morally palatable.  That's a genuine question, by the way, I'm not being cunty.   

[dennis tooth]

None of them arent evil within this system.

 

How many times do I have to come in and correct peoples questions in these threads? Ask the wrong questions you 'll get the wrong answers.

[Section_31]

I was a cunt before I left school Mark.  I'd be interested to know though what private sector businesses you think are morally palatable.  That's a genuine question, by the way, I'm not being cunty.   

 

I think they're all morally palatable in theory, I have no problem with free market economics, I have no problem with banking as a sector. I'd call them amoral if they actively avoid tax, if they exploit the fact people can't afford to be without their product yet continually turn the screw on them - aspects of the energy industry for example. I also think it's amoral to shed jobs purely to maximise profit, shedding jobs if a firm is struggling is a different story. 

 

As I say, I think  a lot of this is down to culture. My ex boss's mrs worked for HSBC for years, just as middle management, and she said it changed massively during her time in terms of culture. She said when she started they operated as a traditional bank, but as time went on it became purely a selling job. When they're selling to people they know can't afford to repay - and I've been on the attempted end of that treatment myself by HSBC - then it becomes immoral, the bank - and the banking industry itself - is not in itself amoral, IMO.

[stringvest]

Can you explain your post Dennis.  What is it relating to?  Everyone working in a bank is evil?  This will come as a blow to Mrs Jenkins at my local branch.