April 04, 2007

Bank needs products

eSir, your “Bank seeks customers”, April 4, in which you describe the headaches of someone who is losing a valuable market niche, in this case the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as its clients have grown richer and don’t need it anymore, reminds us about a not so well known flip side to that saying that a bank only lends you the umbrella when the sun shines and asks it back when it rains. Your title might not be entirely correct since the customers are still there and so what they really have to seek are new products. No interest income? Go for fees! In questions about the environment and energy there is much need for some really independent and neutral advice, as the world might be wasting its last chances of fixing its climate change problems by falling for some well marketed but inefficient hybrid solutions. And in terms of the increasing global migration, why does not ADB develop a temporary worker program that meets everyone’s expectations and needs, then patent it, and charge for its use.