Jump to content

Welcome to the new Traders Laboratory! Please bear with us as we finish the migration over the next few days. If you find any issues, want to leave feedback, get in touch with us, or offer suggestions please post to the Support forum here.

  • Welcome Guests

    Welcome. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest which does not give you access to all the great features at Traders Laboratory such as interacting with members, access to all forums, downloading attachments, and eligibility to win free giveaways. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free. Create a FREE Traders Laboratory account here.

Soultrader

Should We Feel Sorry for Bankers?

Should we feel sorry for bankers?  

23 members have voted

  1. 1. Should we feel sorry for bankers?

    • Yes, I feel sorry for them.
      1
    • No, I do not feel sorry for them.
      16
    • Who cares?
      6


Recommended Posts

I agree as well. I voted who cares?

 

Yep, life is harsh and every day, somewhere in the world, someone is losing out due to something that probably wasn't their fault but end of the day, I agree, who cares?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Lets get the frame right here.

 

When bankers decide that they are swashbuckling risk takers --- they deserve whatever evil comes their way. Have you heard of a lot of bank CEOs who are giving their bonuses back?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Lets get the frame right here.

 

When bankers decide that they are swashbuckling risk takers --- they deserve whatever evil comes their way. Have you heard of a lot of bank CEOs who are giving their bonuses back?

 

No, but they are the ones who should be suffering.

 

'Swashbuckling risk takers' didn't cause the credit crunch or economic crisis, greedy bank CEO's did but its never the real guilty who get punished.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Should We Feel Sorry for Bankers?

 

Absolutely not and especially the CEOs who in the UK seem to have not only got away with not losing their positions but are still getting their bonuses. This is the only industry where abject and total failure with astronomic losses results in the same people running the show. It is total lunacy in my view.

 

 

Paul

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's unfortunate for the rank-and-file at those banks, but really I know a few of them and most of them are so arrogant it's hard to feel TOO sorry. I try though. Besides, why should they be more special than any other corporate drone that gets laid off?

 

As an aside, did anyone else laugh when they heard about Fuld getting laid out in the Lehman Bros company gym? That guy is such an arrogant ****, he deserves to be stripped of his wealth and put in a housing project.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just want to clear any confusion I may have aroused. I do feel sorry for the likes of Gammajammer (to a degree) but NOT those who orchestrated and allowed the ludicrous mortgage lending.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There are bankers and there are bankers.

 

The majority of bankers making $US 100 thousand or less probably had no idea what risks their banks were taking on, while most of the CEOs, CFOs probably did and were willing participants. Margins take on risks as well as potential profits and the CEOs were eager to have their big payday and many did and some were smart to get out as Hank Paulson, the present US Treasury secretary did in 2006 with a take of more than $US 500 million from Goldman Sachs (tax free, because US laws allow tax free divest selling of stocks when you enter US government by appointment).

 

In 2004, the SEC allowed the major US investment banks to take on debt much higher than previous levels after the 5 major IBs lobbied for the rule change:

They wanted an exemption for their brokerage units from an old regulation that limited the amount of debt they could take on. The exemption would unshackle billions of dollars held in reserve as a cushion against losses on their investments. Those funds could then flow up to the parent company, enabling it to invest in the fast-growing but opaque world of mortgage-backed securities; credit derivatives, a form of insurance for bond holders; and other exotic instruments.

 

This is probably the single most damaging change in regulation that prompted the ultimate collapse or reorganization of all the US investment banks. Initially, their earnings exploded upwards, but no parabolic market is sustainable. Only 3 short years later the market collapsed and basically they all got margin calls, together with many of their partners in the hedge funds.

 

The present situation would have been a lot more manageable if they only took on debts at less than 10 to 1 instead of the 33 to 1 or even some at 60 to 1. So it is not the mortgage lending that directly led to their collapse, but the leverage that they took in the collateralized lendings.

Edited by thrunner

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, if you're the top brass, it's a like a crap shoot knowing you'll walk with a bonus if even things don't pan out (golden parachute), so why not go for broke? Think about it. If they risk, everyone loses, but still walk with a insurance policy to keep you unemployed for a few years if not a lifetime. If you win, everyone's is happy and he get even a bigger cut. So it's win-win situation. That's the kind of backward, f-ed-up incentive and message the financial or corporate breeding we endorse? Doesn't make sense for the longest time, now the consequences are playing out, guess what? People fix things only a tragedy has happen, not before. We deserve what we got. You ignore the problem long enough, it'll come back as a massive snowball.

 

The other thing that's convinced me over time is no matter how smart you are, greed still own you. All these ivy leaguers who run the show in Wall St. are only human. We worship them because of the brain power. They create all these new markets using complex math formulas, wow indeed. But when it comes to greed, nothing to envy, guys. Hell with the formula, take the bigger risk and go for the gold. In the end, they can't control greed either, just like the average joe.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

No.

But we should understand - Commercial banks had no choice. “In a time of state-sponsored easy credit all projects get financed by incautious banks with cheap, centrally supplied money. There is no market for cautiously lent money, priced correctly for the risk involved. Why would anyone pay more for funds from a cautious bank when cheaper funds are available from easier sources?” Paul Tustain. Compound that with ‘bureaucratic’ / ‘legal’ pressures to make loans to anyone who wanted to own a house… Heck, under those circumstances, I can’t even blame top level execs for demanding ‘no – lose’ compensation packages.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I voted yes, then realized most of you were talking about CEOs.

 

As for the guys who lost their job and were really just doing what they were told, that sucks. It's devastating to get laid off, and I can't imagine how the guys at LEH must feel after their company went bankrupt. It's not like they were running around like Tarzan taking retarded risks and knowing about it. Of course they know theres risk involved, that's the nature of this business. But I sincerely doubt any of them knew the outcome. It's probably pretty rough on those with families.

 

It's very easy to sit back and point out the blame, even at CEOs. I think it's stupid, because none of us really know the whole story. Even those of us who have done a lot of research, you will still never know the entire story, therefore it's pointeless to sit back and judge - especially in hindsight. And as traders, I'm kind of surprised so many of us are taking that route.

 

I hope we all realize how hated even we are on main street.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Be careful who you blame.   I can tell you one thing for sure.   Effective traders don’t blame others when things start to go wrong.   You can hang onto your tendency to play the victim, or the martyr… but if you want to achieve in trading, you have to be prepared to take responsibility.   People assign reasons to outcomes, whether based on internal or external factors.   When traders face losses, it's common for them to blame bad luck, poor advice, or other external factors, rather than reflecting on their own personal attributes like arrogance, fear, or greed.   This is a challenging lesson to grasp in your trading journey, but one that holds immense value.   This is called attribution theory. Taking responsibility for your actions is the key to improving your trading skills. Pause and ask yourself - What role did I play in my financial decisions?   After all, you were the one who listened to that source, and decided to act on that trade based on the rumour. Attributing results solely to external circumstances is what is known as having an ‘external locus of control’.   It's a concept coined by psychologist Julian Rotter in 1954. A trader with an external locus of control might say, "I made a profit because the markets are currently favourable."   Instead, strive to develop an "internal locus of control" and take ownership of your actions.   Assume that all trading results are within your realm of responsibility and actively seek ways to improve your own behaviour.   This is the fastest route to enhancing your trading abilities. A trader with an internal locus of control might proudly state, "My equity curve is rising because I am a disciplined trader who faithfully follows my trading plan." Author: Louise Bedford Source: https://www.tradinggame.com.au/
    • SELF IMPROVEMENT.   The whole self-help industry began when Dale Carnegie published How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1936. Then came other classics like Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins toward the end of the century.   Today, teaching people how to improve themselves is a business. A pure ruthless business where some people sell utter bullshit.   There are broke Instagrammers and YouTubers with literally no solid background teaching men how to be attractive to women, how to begin a start-up, how to become successful — most of these guys speaking nothing more than hollow motivational words and cliche stuff. They waste your time. Some of these people who present themselves as hugely successful also give talks and write books.   There are so many books on financial advice, self-improvement, love, etc and some people actually try to read them. They are a waste of time, mostly.   When you start reading a dozen books on finance you realize that they all say the same stuff.   You are not going to live forever in the learning phase. Don't procrastinate by reading bull-shit or the same good knowledge in 10 books. What we ought to do is choose wisely.   Yes. A good book can change your life, given you do what it asks you to do.   All the books I have named up to now are worthy of reading. Tim Ferriss, Simon Sinek, Robert Greene — these guys are worthy of reading. These guys teach what others don't. Their books are unique and actually, come from relevant and successful people.   When Richard Branson writes a book about entrepreneurship, go read it. Every line in that book is said by one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.   When a Chinese millionaire( he claims to be) Youtuber who releases a video titled “Why reading books keeps you broke” and a year later another one “My recommendation of books for grand success” you should be wise to tell him to jump from Victoria Falls.   These self-improvement gurus sell you delusions.   They say they have those little tricks that only they know that if you use, everything in your life will be perfect. Those little tricks. We are just “making of a to-do-list before sleeping” away from becoming the next Bill Gates.   There are no little tricks.   There is no success-mantra.   Self-improvement is a trap for 99% of the people. You can't do that unless you are very, very strong.   If you are looking for easy ways, you will only keep wasting your time forgetting that your time on this planet is limited, as alive humans that is.   Also, I feel that people who claim to read like a book a day or promote it are idiots. You retain nothing. When you do read a good book, you read slow, sometimes a whole paragraph, again and again, dwelling on it, trying to internalize its knowledge. You try to understand. You think. It takes time.   It's better to read a good book 10 times than 1000 stupid ones.   So be choosy. Read from the guys who actually know something, not some wannabe ‘influencers’.   Edit: Think And Grow Rich was written as a result of a project assigned to Napoleon Hill by Andrew Carnegie(the 2nd richest man in recent history). He was asked to study the most successful people on the planet and document which characteristics made them great. He did extensive work in studying hundreds of the most successful people of that time. The result was that little book.   Nowadays some people just study Instagram algorithms and think of themselves as a Dale Carnegie or Anthony Robbins. By Nupur Nishant, Quora Profits from free accurate cryptos signals: https://www.predictmag.com/    
    • there is no avoiding loses to be honest, its just how the market is. you win some and hopefully more, but u do lose some. 
    • $CSCO Cisco Systems stock, nice top of range breakout, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?CSCOSEPN Septerna stock watch for a bottom breakout, good upside price gap
    • $CSCO Cisco Systems stock, nice top of range breakout, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?CSCOSEPN Septerna stock watch for a bottom breakout, good upside price gap
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.