Che Guevara and the Dutch Finance Minister

The Netherlands Minister of Finance, Jan Kees de Jager finally found the solution to keep the Dutch bankers honest. He proposed that all employees of banks will take an obligatory oath, stating that they will always keep the general interest and the interests of their clients at heart. Receptionists and cleaners to be excluded from this obligation, which is a pity as there is a lot to clean up at the banks.
 

The Minister made this proposal a day after the Dutch parliamentary commission investigating the banking crisis and the nationalization of ABNAMRO, published its report. This commission studied for one and a half years on the way the government handled the crisis, consulted many financial experts, and came up with a lot of proposals to restructure the sector, but they overlooked the simple solution of the oath. The Minister made himself the laughing stock of most commentators, although some point out that the oath would broaden the base for legal proceedings in case of any future wrong doing.
 

Even Che Guevara realized that in order to establish a communist/socialist order on revolutionary Cuba he would have to create a “new man”, who would put the general interest before personal gain. Although Cuba was full of believers at that time he was not very successful, to say the least. One must admit that he did not have a big chance to create his new men as the younger generation, the sons and daughters of the party elite, left the island by the hundreds to study capitalism first hand.
 

If Jan Kees de Jager is the ultimate believer in the possibility to create a “new man” by introducing the obligatory oath for bankers, he has my blessing. Personally I feel that a restructuring of the financial sector in The Netherlands requires the introduction of more checks and balances. “Ring fencing” of general and investment banking and foremost the improvement of the quality of the supervisors, which failed so dramatically in the run up to the banking crises.
 

Its not only the banks which had problems with the supervisors. When privatization was the hype in the 1980′s many government activities have been privatized or semi-privatized, meaning that the responsibility remained with the government, but the execution was put in the hands “independent” organizations. As a consequence many highly paid jobs were created for managers and supervisors, some of them handling substantial amounts of public money.

Recently Vestia, the largest Dutch corporation in charge of social housing, came under investigation by the state prosecutor. Vestia invested part of its capital in derivatives with ABNAMRO and Deutsche Bank and this bet went wrong, leading to huge losses and the departure of the general manager to Bonaire. Of course with a golden parachute. It so happens that the Chairman of the Board of the supervisory organization of Vestia (Centraal Fonds Volkshuisvesting),  is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board  (Raad van Commissarissen) of ABNAMRO. By chance? I don’t know, but it gives such an ugly impression especially as this gentleman is a member of eight other supervisory boards of commercial and financial organizations, besides the two I already mentioned.

One wonders if  The Netherlands can avail of so few capable financial experts that we find the well paid supervisory functions concentrated in the hands of so few.

As far as Vestia is concerned, the question remains who will pick-up the tab after the irresponsible betting on derivatives. Not ABNAMRO nor the supervisors, but a rent increase for the tenants of Vestia’s houses is being contemplated!

Click HERE to read more from Oye! Times.

Article viewed on Oye! Times at www.oyetimes.com