Comments on: Fixing Banks Ain’t Easy

By: tom p

tom p — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:14:53 +0000

Expertise and judgment are two different things.

Business is business, gov't is gov't, never the twain shall meet.

The problem, as always, is the interface between the 2. Corruption doth follow.

By: odograph

odograph — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:10:46 +0000

Hmmm. Won't a "tea party" fix everything?

By: Drew

Drew — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:42:37 +0000

Expertise and judgment are two different things. The executives displayed poor judgment and in turn their boards and shareholders were not vigilant. For their errors, the owners should therefore pay the price in any restructuring.

But that is not a predicate for having govt types run the banks, or to assume some equivalence of expertise.

By: sam

sam — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:44:50 +0000

Dude: The talented people attracted by massive salary and benefits packages didn’t seem to have the expertise, either

Wooooord.

By: Pete Burgess

Pete Burgess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:00:17 +0000

Dave, I think the biggest problem with the evolution of business is the preoccupation with bottom line results each quarter, etc. Maximizing profits has taken precedence over optimizing long term growth. Too much short term thinking. Portion of comment in violation of site policies deleted. If you wish to buy advertising for your pet agenda, contact me for rates.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:39:25 +0000

It's a point that I've been making for years and it applies to fields other than banking. The folks who want to make the highest income, i.e. those most motivated by money, aren't necessarily the best qualified or more capable. What you want are people most attracted to running successful banks which is not necessarily synonymous with the people who want to make the most money quick.

By: odograph

odograph — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:36:15 +0000

Uh, aren't "bad banks" just a Democratic fearmongering?

By: Pete Burgess

Pete Burgess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:10:45 +0000

Well, then let the cream rise to the top and let the garbage be carted away. We shouldn't be subsidizing failure. There are plenty of banks whose managers HAVE the expertise and WERE responsible. What is happening is criminal. Portion of comment in violation of site policies deleted. If you wish to buy advertising for your pet agenda, contact me for rates.