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At what point are you a "banker"? If you work the teller window and you get me my withdraw when I drive up to your window, are you a banker? If you are a mortgage broker, and you help me secure financing for my home are you a banker? If you are a branch manager and you ensure that the the location I choose to bank at runs smoothly and efficiently are you a banker? If you are a hedge fund manager, are you a banker? Which jobs are the evil ones and which are just jobs? I know a lot of people that work for banking institutions, they're just like anyone else trying to make a living for their families. They'll do what they can to make ends meet within the structure they're provided.
Hellsadvocate · 4546 days ago · link ·
This is exactly right. I used to be a banker for Chase, and made 30k a year. It was a living while I studied for my engineering degree. You have to be salesy, you have to win over funds from other banks. That is your job. Every time I hear "Bankers" taking heat in the press, I wonder who they're talking about. My job is simply to make sure people are being helped and are happy.
Losses, and policies that cause Bank failures are caused very high up the ladder. It is unfortunately the way these companies work. And without specifically targeting those who led towards Bank failures, and by targeting the general "Banker" term, the public doesn't realize who the enemy is.
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thenewgreen · 4546 days ago · link ·
How high up the ladder do you need to go to reach the culprits? Are we talking the CEO's of major banks? Are we talking the FED chairman? If so, the target list is a pretty small one. Just generally saying "bankers" is silly. Thanks for answering the title of the post, "yes, they're human". Nice to meet you Hellsadvocate and welcome to Hubski.
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Hellsadvocate · 4546 days ago · link ·
Nice to meet you to thenewgreen, really great website, I'm trying something different from reddit which has become a bit crappy lately. And I'm not sure how far up you'd have to go, the people that write policies and procedures are probably the executives for each division of the Bank. I'm guessing Executives for Lending/Retail Banking/and Legal. Their names are never in public, I'll go and look them up when I get into the Bank again.
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thenewgreen · 4546 days ago · link ·
Oh, no need to look up their names. I'm not sure that's necessary. I think anyone would agree that there are more than one group of people responsible for the financial mess we find ourselves in. It's a systemic problem and I think a whole lot of it has to do with businesses being beholden to shareholders on a calendar year. They are forced to raise profits every year regardless of whether that is feasible. Therefore, they are forced to get "creative" within (and sometimes outside of) the law.
Glad to have you around, see you in the halls of hubski.
speeding_snail · 4547 days ago · link ·
I personaly define the bankers as the ones on the top. The ones making the actual decisions. Those are the ones who abused their position. But you have a good point. You can't just mindlessly blame all people who work for the banks. Just like one cannot mindlessly blame everyone involved if a project fails. Thanks for pointing that out.