Thursday, February 27, 2014

Regulators, what have the ex ante perceived as “risky” ever done to you, or to the banks?

Why do you require banks to hold more capital against loans to medium and small businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups, only because these are perceived as “risky”, than the capital banks need to hold against loans to the “infallible sovereigns”, the housing sector or the AAAristocracy? 

Beats me! The former, those perceived as “risky” when originally incorporated in a bank balance, have never ever set of a major bank crisis, those crises have always resulted, no exceptions, because of excessive bank exposures to those erroneously perceived as "absolutely safe" .

And regulators, your risk aversion psychosis causes then banks to earn less return on equity when lending to the “risky” than when lending to the “safe”, and so banks stop lending to medium and small businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Is that really prudent from the perspective of keeping the real economy strong and sturdy so as to not pose a threat to the stability of the banking system? 

Is it because the “risky” are dirty, smelly and ugly when compared to the “absolutely safe”? Is that also the reason why you never invite them to Basel, or to other venues, so as to hear their opinions about these odiously discriminating risk-weighted bank capital requirements of yours? 

You've got to stop this nonsense… Now! If medium and small businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups do not have access to bank credit in fair terms, our young will, no doubt about it, become a lost generation.