Banks and the future

I have been speaking to a range of people recently on the future of money and in particular the future of finance. The media will tell us that banks are a spent force, but it would seem that actually Governments are a spent force. The threat of credit agencies down grading government ratings is not a step that will encourage them to spend.

So as a result where does that leave funding in the economy. Banks, were never going to be the catalyst. My one wish in all this is that we'd stop expecting them to suddenly open a sluice gate. We are just as much to blame as the Banks are. Ultimately they are controlled by their shareholders and always will be. The mutual movement has signs of hope in the retail sector. The sensible businesses that held true to their business models still have a vital role in the mortgage and saving market. The area that retail finance needs to focus.

But the driving question is growth. Growth will come from business and SME's will be dealt with by the Banks. This is their focus, and we shouldn't punish them for that. Good businesses will continue to get support.

But what about start ups, community enterprises, the big society, renewable energy, co-operatives. I heard a story the other day that the Co-Operative Bank had suggested a new business venture avoid using the Co-Operative model as they didn't understand it.

This world is specialist and not very profitable to big institutions. A call centre couldn't support the demands of micro business. They need coaching, mentoring and support, but as recent micro finance schemes show they can be profitable.

So instead of blaming big Banks, shouting at the Government or thinking we are without solution, we need to start thinking about money and finance differently. There is a new age upon us, an age where money will change in its meaning. We will not just look for interest rates, but for the value our savings can add. Let's start mobilising and stop waiting for a clunky overly complicated Government to tell us what to do.

Big Society Bank in Leeds? Maybe just a community focused mutual in Leeds!

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Localism and Global Issues

Localism has been something I have been passionate about for several years now. The idea of developing local communities, helping people re-engage with their neighbourhood and preventing big corporate culture from dominating our high streets.

With a low carbon economy, these ideas begin to be more relevant as we look at restrictions on global travel, renewable energy production requiring smart grids to be effective etc.. But we still live in a planet challenged by resource deprivation, mass poverty and poor health care.

I have heard the saying charity begins at home all my life and I do agree that principle, but if we focus purely on our neighbour do we miss a chance to make real change.

In reality our neighbour has never been further away, whilst at the same time never closer. The communications era has lead to a shrinking world. Someone living in my village has never read my blog, but I know people as far away as South Korea have. Does the term neighbour redefining in our global network.

The skills and ideas that we generate in the UK are equally relevant in South Korea, Libya or Argentina. Whilst the Global mastodons will continue to grow and reach new markets so the challenge of localism becomes ever more important. Towns in the sub continent and Africa need the skills and ideas to become self supproting to create jobs and provide food for their families in the same way that we do.

We should not be focussed on localism solving local issues but localism and networks of locallities changing the global framework and reinventing how we live our life.