General Manager’s Note — November 2008

General Manager’s Note — November 2008

By Matt Painter Friday, 14 November 2008

People who know me and my sleeping habits often use the term “night owl.” Somewhere between 9 and 10 p.m. I seem to get going. It’s also about the time my wife rolls her eyes, kisses me good night and goes to bed like most normal people.

During one of my late nights a few weeks ago I watched Charlie Rose interview Ted Forstmann, an attorney and accomplished businessman. As current chairman and CEO of media and sports giant IMG, Forstmann’s business experience spans almost three decades. The topic of the night was the banking industry and how our current economic situation came to be.

One of Forstmann’s more interesting observations was that many large investment banks stopped acting like banks in recent years and started acting like casinos; they had abandoned their traditional role of investing at the community level and had instead adopted extremely risky practices that were essentially “bets.” He said that, historically, bankers were people that wanted to make a profit, but also wanted to help grow businesses because a healthy community meant more long-term business for them. In contrast, bankers involved in subprime lending practices seemed to be less worried about families and business and more concerned about balance sheets.

In the midst of this mess, I have developed a new appreciation for local banks and credit unions. If companies like Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs had shown an interest in people and communities — in much the same way that small institutions do — I can’t help but wonder if this current situation would exist.

Matt Painter

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it