I Love Bankers

I Love Bankers

I’m always one for a controversial statement now and again, and this one is perhaps more controversial than most, but I can actually defend it, and explain why you should be grateful for the bankers, and ignore the crap Vince Cable is coming out with today.
Banks should take a share of the blame for the financial crisis, but the regulators, government and the Bank of England could have done something about it long ago.
Banks should also however take a share of the credit for how far advanced the UK economy has come since the 1980’s, not long prior to that the UK was known as the “Sick Man of Europe”.
Since the 1980’s, when the ‘Big Bang’ under Maggie Thatcher opened up the banks, London has become one of the great financial centres of the world, if not perhaps the greatest.
What tends to happen across the world and local economy is that employees and companies in a subject tend to want to work near other employees/companies, for various reasons, including the ability to recruit staff of a similar calibre, and economies of scale when purchasing requirements for their business. A la Silicon Valley, or the IT industry in the M4 corridor.
So naturally, the banks congregate in an English-speaking city with an excellent level of culture.
If the bankers were not in London, they would be elsewhere. They would be paying tax elsewhere – not into HM Treasury.
OK they earn massive amounts, but where do they spend it? Or a substantial amount of it? On buying property, cars, hair cuts, drinks – all kinds of products and services on offer in this country. Which keeps people employed.

So I say, it is about time we stopped being so jealous and hugged a banker.
I love bankers!