European and American Banks

What started in the United States as giving out mortgages to people of whom it was known beforehand that they could never bear the burden of, has blown up to a financial crisis.

The governments in America and Europe have responded to it by supporting banks or even partially or completely buying them. The interest rate has been lowered as well.

The goal of all this: it must be made possible for the banks to continue fulfilling one of their most important task of being the lubricant in the economy.

While the banks can loan money cheaply thanks to the government measures, they charge considerable interest rates to companies that are looking to invest. On the one hand, it is understandable for the banks, because they want to increase their own buffers. On the other hand this is wrong for the customers both from a business and a moral perspective. Do the companies that want to borrow money to invest have to suffer for the problems that have been caused by many banks themselves and for the mutual distrust of the banks?

To really be able to attack the recession, banks must make sure that the failing economic engine gets the necessary fuel.

It is uncomely, that while the European Bank has reduced the interest rate to 3.25 percent, entrepreneurs–via so-called risk surcharges–have to pay their bank between 8 and 9 percent interest, if they need money to invest.

Of course banks need to be critical in judging credit requests. They should have done this–also in our country–in giving out, sometimes much too high mortgages.

But it cannot be that they neglect their basic task by giving outrageous interest demands to their–often regular, solid and loyal–customers.

The aid that the banks received from the government was not meant for this and will work counter to the recovery of our economic strength.