July 18, 2013

My one and only question to Ben Bernanke in the Congress of the Home of the Brave

Sir I refer to Bernanke’s recent declarations as reported by Robin Harding.

If I had a chance to direct only one question to Mr. Bernanke, in front of the Congress of the Home of the Brave, that would be:

Mr. Bernanke how long do you think a nation can remain strong with banks that avoid what is perceived as risky?

And, if he asked me what the hell I meant with that, this is what I would explain to him about banks.

Sir, banks are currently allowed to hold less capital when lending to “The Infallible”, like the Treasury and the AAAristocracy, than when lending to “The Risky”, like the small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs.

And that translates in “The Infallible” being able to produce banks higher expected risk-adjusted returns on their equity than “The Risky”. And that of course makes access to bank credit by “The Risky” much scarcer and more expensive. 

And I ask of course because “The Risky” are those who operate on the margin of the real economy, those who keep the economy moving forward, generating jobs and assuring the existence of some of “The Infallible” tomorrow.

PS. And besides Mr, Bernanke, for your information, "The Risky", precisely because they are perceived as risky, have never ever caused a major bank crises. That honor corresponds entirely to some of The Infallible who turned out not to be,