Country banks are more flexible in their lending policies than their city brethren are.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
International lending banks need to focus on areas where private investment doesn't go, such as infrastructure projects, education and poverty relief.
The big banks advise cities about whether privatization is a wise choice. They also control the ability of states and cities to access the market for their financing needs.
It is no wonder that bank capital is regulated. When borrowing and lending is profitable, it is tempting for banks to scale up their operations and to borrow and lend too much in relation to their capital, in effect reducing the effectiveness of the potential capital cushion.
The connection which formerly existed between the Government and banks was in reality injurious to both, as well as to the general interests of the community at large.
Banks are there to support businesses that have justifiable needs.
I mean, Dodd-Frank is strangling small community banks. It doesn't make any difference what the interest rate is. They're not - they're not going to loan the money because they can't make any money for one thing plus the cost of compliance.
You read constantly that banks are lobbying regulators and elected officials as if this is inappropriate. We don't look at it that way.
We don't think of ourselves as a regional investment bank. We think of ourselves as merchant bankers with clients all over the country.
Forget about banks that are too big to fail; the focus should be on cities, municipalities and countries that are too big to fail.
The banks are not lending, at least from what I see. They were so wild and reckless back in the good times that they got burned terribly.