Photo by bamagai at Unsplash
A year in retirement can give you perspective, particularly a year fraught with ample opportunity to do some good amidst challenge, risk, and danger of various flavors. Such was the year behind us. Does the year ahead offer any less?
Many such thoughts were brought to mind in a recent conversation with the chief financial officer of a community bank. As you would guess, we discussed the outlook for banking. I observed that the condition of the industry reminded me of the dot-com bust of 2000. While the economy was in decline, hit a second time by the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the banking industry was thankfully in strong financial condition. The dot-com bust had a securities market and Silicon Valley locus.
As in 2001, so also today, the banking industry is strongly capitalized, liquid with financial resources, well positioned to fund economic recovery. Fortuitously, that position is matched by a host of potential customers, especially entrepreneurs eager to start up new businesses or expand ones that survived the government-led shutdowns. Among those entrepreneurs are many people whose businesses closed not from bad business plans, but due to the Great Cessation of 2020. That is to say, there are people who want to start new businesses who know how to run businesses, if government strictures will let them.
Their problem is one of resources exhausted by trying to keep their businesses floating as the tide went out. As the tide is coming back in, there is a ready supply of people who would like to have a go with a new boat. Good bankers have always been in the business of finding and funding good risks.
Banks grow as their customers and communities grow. Good banking fosters and facilitates the generation, management, preservation, and application of wealth.
Bad banking bleeds wealth, which is why failed banks should be allowed to fail, to end the drain on the economy and to make room for the productive work of good banks, new and old. Good bankers do their work by insightful weighing of opportunities and risks, tailoring terms and conditions to such opportunities and risks. Bad banking either mistakes opportunities, or it miscalculates or ignores risk, or both. Which, by the way, is why governments should stay out of the business of banking (other than as prudential supervisors), as the history of government shows an atrocious record of missing opportunities and miscalculating risk, sometimes for the short-term benefit of government’s associates.
The other day I saw a happy video from the chief executive officer of a southwestern bank. Her timely message was of gratitude to the bank’s customers for constant communication and support. In return, she offered a reaffirmed invitation apropos to serving in a way tailored to customers’ financial needs. Reach out to the bank, including its CEO, 24-7 for financial service. In conclusion, she pledged the bank to “connect you with others in our community who can serve you best.” Now, that is good banking.
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