Author: isi

three main myths about banking

isi / / Stuff that matters

Telegraph.co.uk/finance Bank-reform-held-back-by-lobby-group-myths-BoE-member-Robert-Jenkins-claims

He outlined three main myths propagated by the banking lobby. The first was that reform, principally the demand for larger loss-absorbing capital buffers, was a choice “between safety and growth”. “The banking lobby would have us believe that higher capital requirements and lower leverage will damage economic growth and retard the recovery,” he said. “Bankers have exploited this fear.”

Mr Jenkins claimed that the argument was false because more capital would not limit the amount of lending a bank could do, but would make it safer and therefore lowered its funding costs. Banks have claimed the opposite was the case due to their adherence to “return on equity” (RoE) targets, which ignore risk.

The second myth was that unless RoE was high, shareholders would not invest and capital could not be raised. Mr Jenkins dismissed the claim, saying: “The prospective investor is no longer interested in promises of short-term RoE, he is interested in achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns.”

The third myth was that governments cannot afford to over-regulate for the risk of losing financial centres. However, he said: “In a world of increased risk awareness, letting your banks off the capital hook will likely damage not enhance their ability to compete.”

Mr Jenkins also suggested that banks should be subjected to far higher capital and leverage ratios but fewer complicated rules in return.

The fluoro-vest economy

isi / / Stuff that matters

Found this article about Australia’s ‘fluoro-vest economy’ in the smh – and just couldn’t agree more:

It’s boom time in Australia and if you’re in the fluoro-vest economy, you’re so loaded you can commute to your second home in Bali. For the rest of the country, however, it’s getting a tad difficult to just, you know, live. Continue reading “The fluoro-vest economy”

Job interviews…

isi / / About

… and why I suck at them.

All that is happening around us, the digitalisation of our world and the ever-connectedness that comes with it, to me this is all just one awe-inspiring invigorating exhilarating over the moon great huge adventure, with software sprouting everywhere to be consumed brainfinger-lickingly, with layers going down deeper and deeper by the byte, all that just absolutely blows my mind, every single day, again and again. What’s ahead of us, the breadth of the tech horizon of which we’ve only just seen a fraction so far (its maybe 5:45am on a winter morning), is just so gobsmackingly fabulous and exiting and inspiring right down to the tiniest braincell (and heart.bit), it’s the best reason to get out of bed every morning to see where we’ve gotten to today. At least that’s what I think and feel about the whole thing.

But – when at a job interview I find it simply impossible to even begin to give a proper answer to questions like “where do you see personal enhancement opportunities” or “can you describe a situation past with communication gone wrong” or “would you see yourself rather-than-as?”
Continue reading “Job interviews…”

Haphazard urbanisation

isi / / Beauty, Stuff that matters

I live in allegedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But what is being built down here, outside from the big smoke of the CBD, is in many cases simply appalling. Why is that? What is wrong with the architects in Australia, the builders, designers and the government officials who let those eye-sores pop up on every street corner?!

The need for aesthetics is a default setting in the human psyche. Councils, mayors, decision makers – Do something! Build nicer!! Get rid of those horrible ugly clubs and pubs and community halls.

For a change apply taste, reason and common sense BEFORE the first shovel hits the ground. And maybe you even manage to actually visit the place that you intent to design/restructure/claim to take care of…

Save our sanity guys – build better public spaces!!!