March 28, 2008

Too much ‘Group think’ C’est la vie!

Sir Gillian Tett in “Banking oversight and the danger of ‘group think’” March 28 mentions the “difficulty the staff of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) face in terms of challenging the dominant financial creed” mostly because they lack the glamour needed to be allowed to question the glamorous.

Something similar happens when a modest MBA like me, with only 30 years street experience, in only a developing country, tries to get through to journalists to alert them of what has and is really happening out there, only to be ignored because it is so much more glamorous when appearing surrounded by PhDs. I guess c’est la vie! Regulatory authorities will not get to see the full truth, and neither will the journalists, not even some columnists.

Now if Gillian Tett sees danger in the above when occurring in FSA she should have a look at what happens in that mutual admiration club composed by The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Monetary Fund and all their members the Central Bankers…talk about the mother of all ‘group think’ they even have their own checks and balances, like The Financial Stability Forum. The World Bank and that should presumably do some of the questioning, was just told to shut up and harmonize.