GUEST COMMENT: Bankers should be angry too
In the midst of this week's protests there's been much talk of bankers sneaking round the City in a cunning camouflage of chinos and checked shirts, but all too little discussion of how we found ourselves in this thorny predicament.
Any profession that is obliged to wear a disguise would be wise to pause for a moment and think, 'Maybe we slipped up?' Instead, we have a City-wide case of cognitive dissonance.
It's always someone else's fault: the global economy, bad regulators, nefarious exotic instruments, hedge funds or the bogeyman Fred Godwin (boo hiss).
The problem my friends is us.
We let ourselves be led astray by the relentless pursuit of shareholder value, the next quarter's numbers, and bonuses.
We used the brightest minds and biggest computers to do the absolute dumbest things. We equated the sensible use of an ISA with industrial scale tax shenanigans, merged companies
randomly for fees, paid dividends with borrowed money and elevated the ability to pick stocks above Deal or No Deal.
Some laughed dismissively at the dreadlocked masses protesting. But we're the one's living on benefits be they guarantees to monolines, TARP or fanciful valuations of level 3 assets.
Take out the smallest violin in the world, but we should be angry that what was once a respected profession providing for peoples futures, facilitating business growth, allocating capital efficiently, was allowed to become a glorified casino.
Countless friends and colleagues are now 'freelancing.' Share options faithfully kept for retirement have been wiped out and loyal old-timers right-sourced to centres of excellence far away. But still the board refuses to admit the game is up; if we all close our eyes we can
go back to 2006.
Given my current surplus of free time I popped down to the G20 protests not to protest or promote free Tooting/climate change/organic olive oil, but in my own pointless way to protest against the current the proposals from the great and good of the G20.
It's Chuck Prince's 'keep dancing' on steroids. Throw money at it and it will go away. The assets still have value, the market just doesn't know it yet (try that on eBay).
Tweak the regulations but don't bring back Glass Stegall. Bash the Swiss, but not Delaware.
My own humble suggestion: we all take salary cut and watch Its A Wonderful Life* on repeat until we behave.
(*It's entirely about banking and its effect on the world, not just Christmas).
Damien McElvanna is a repentant banker though if you're hiring let him know. He is also the man who held the placard saying 'Mark to Market' at Wednesday's demonstration.
