Bankers & Politicians, the remaining ‘trust’ evaporates?

Given the latest global LIBOR banking scandal, with politicians playing belated catch-up, the one certainty is that savvy consumers are becoming more entrenched in their determination never to outsource their product-buying decision-making to third parties like suppliers and retailers, ever again. Apart from the ‘obvious’ irreversible damage to the City and traditional banking brands (and unprecedented opportunities for the Co-op bank, Tesco-bank and other retailers that carry little banking baggage. They simply need the skill to count reliably and meet consumer needs) this new ‘unprecedented turmoil means that suppliers have to increasingly deal, and be seen to deal, in business reality.

A wake-up call to end all wake-up calls?

This current wake-up call from 30 years of credit-fuelled demand has already lasted four years (!) and as a result we are embarked upon 10-15 years of flat-line growth, to be overseen and driven by increasingly savvy consumers, who will be satisfied with nothing less than demonstrable value for money…a new culture that is spreading back up the supply-chain…with de-stocking simply one symptom.

With EU unemployment at 15%, rising to 25% in the age segments that matter, consumers, suppliers, retailers and whole countries deleveraging (i.e. using money to pay down debt rather than investing/spending), there will simply be little or no basis for real growth, anywhere, for a long, long time.

The new business reality

This is the new business reality…an opportunity for anyone prepared to face up to it…

In fact, in the current climate business success, and even survival, is about being able to optimise reality.  Indeed, if you do not face up to reality in business, others will do it for you…  Hence the reason why bankers and politicians gradually increase their influence on a faltering business until they eventually officiate in its liquidation. And the LIBOR crisis is currently demonstrating the reliability and trustworthiness of both…

Like never before, reality now counts, bigtime, and the responsibility for dealing in reality is now in your hands, where it belongs, and should be kept…

Q: Is this really the responsibility of NAMs & KAMs?

A euro parable: the couple with a joint account

Increasing the bank-leverage of a pre-nuptial joint account by adding extra family members and strict rules of compliance can benefit all, at first…... Adding a joint credit-card guaranteed by richer family members can appear to provide a short term solution to personal financial ‘mis-behaviour’ of those family members who in return promise to mend their ways via unsustainable cut-backs…
Attempts to eject problem members can cause the bank to threaten closure of the entire joint-account, resulting in core-members having to re-mortgage to prevent collapse… If you really want to understand how close the euro is to collapse, read this fascinating parable on the FT site. 
In other words, whether you are buying or selling, you owe yourself a couple of ‘what-ifs’ on the unmentionable, while others hope something will turn up, whilst awaiting an announcement from Brussels…
Meanwhile, have a real-world weekend, from the NamNews Team!