When banks collapse

Greece is now a live experiment of what happens when an electronic banking system collapses.

People cannot access their cash. They cannot make payments. Their credit cards stop working. Shops and gas service stations cannot sell unless you have coins and notes. Your salary cannot be paid. Taxes cannot be paid. Producers and exporters cannot be paid. News loans for housing, business or consumption cannot be taken and old ones cannot be repaid. If the currency changes, if Greece leaves the Euro area then the amount of these loans will increase because of a massive devaluation. The economy just closes down…

Only tourists and those people who have accounts abroad can survive, but they too will need lots of cash or leave the country…

It was naïve to invite Greece into the Euro area because we all knew about the corruption and economic chaos that was rife in the country. The rich avoided paying taxes, public services were based on bribes, nepotism and gross inefficiency. Monopolies abounded unchecked. The result has been that Finnish and other taxpayers in the Euro area are paying Greek taxes and financing their economy without control.

Where are the European Commissioners who were responsible for these decisions then and now? They are in senior positions in our government and in high European posts! Doesn’t anybody demand changes at the top any more for senior members of the public services – European or domestic?

Finland has a banking system with no real competition – just 3 banks control over 80% of the market and they are all “too big to fail”.  The Bank of Finland has recently expressed concern about this. Changes are necessary because this concentration of power is a real and present risk for our economy.