Values [died in the financial crisis] -- Former Deutsche Bank CEO

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Der Spiegel is running an interview with Hilmar Kopper, former Deutsche Bank CEO. Its worth the read in entirety, and difficult to summarize, but Hilmar Kopper comes off quite well. There is much in what he says that I disagree with, but he does seem to have that rarest of values - integrity.

Would that others in the financial industry had the same backbone.  Some choice quotes follow
  • (resentment toward your industry now extends into the upper classes.) Since when is the upper class a benchmark of judgment?
  • (People don't die in the financial crisis ..) .. but values do -- in every sense of the word.
  •  Markets have a compensatory function. This doesn't mean that good behavior on the part of the players is automatically guaranteed. Unfortunately, the hope that people will behave with decency isn't always enough. The players need laws. Money needs laws (ed: emphasis mine). And laws are the responsibility of the state. It makes the rules, monitors compliance and imposes sanctions, if necessary
  •  (Deutsche Bank CEO) Josef Ackermann said a clever thing: It would be nice if the banks would remind themselves that the threat to their reputation is worse than a lost deal. We held the same view in the past. We didn't want to touch certain deals, because they were too precarious, in terms of structure and image, even if we stood to make a lot of money with them. This boundary has shifted more and more. Nowadays you just get yourself the best lawyers, have expert opinions written and make sure you've covered all the legal bases.
  •  Completely. I used to think that the world was shaped by love. I'm sorry, but that's nonsense. It's shaped by money. Money, avarice and greed -- these are the three main constants.
Money needs laws.  Ye gods, Greenspan would have a cow.  Then again, if one thing has become abundantly clear in this crisis, it is that the 'no-limit no-regulation' approach to financial regulation was, well, an unmitigated disaster.
Then again, given the cynicism in that last point, his approach to regulation really should be taken seriously.
In closing, I give you one final quote

I can guarantee you that the mistakes that were made will be repeated.  At all events, the cycles will become short, the triggers more surprising and the crises even bigger.

 'nuff said...

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