That’s not the way to do it!

 

There’s a sense of déjà vu about the latest debacle to surface from the Banking industry. This time it’s the US Bank JPMorgan under the spot light having ran up a staggering loss last year of $6.2 billion on derivative trading.US Prosecutors are to file criminal charges resulting from the alleged cover up of the losses.  

The comment from the Bank’s CEO was truly astonishing “In hindsight, the new strategy was flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed and poorly monitored” he added “The portfolio has proved to be riskier, more volatile and less effective as an economic hedge than we thought. There are many errors, sloppiness and bad judgements. It puts egg on our faces and we deserve any criticism that we get”. As a mea culpa that statement takes some beating!

Despite the havoc that their action caused to the global economies, these self appointed “Masters of the Universe” are still trying to control the world through their own form of financial engineering.

By developing trading instruments and programmes of ever increasing complexity they have created monsters which just like Dr Frankenstein they cannot control.

Unfortunately the implications of their misplaced arrogance go far beyond the damage done to their own bottom line. Contrast the position of the senior personnel at JPMorgan with the owner of a cash-starved SME operating against the current backdrop.

It is ironic that the Banks are reluctant to fund legitimate operations at a time when their own activities have in so many instances been so damaging.