That's the opinion of the George Soros and AtW.
"George Soros, the billionaire investor, believes the banking sector is a “parasite” holding back the economic recovery and an “incestuous” relationship with regulators means little has been done to resolve the issues behind the 2008 crisis.
“The banking sector is acting as a parasite on the real economy,” Mr Soros said in his new book “The Tragedy of the European Union”.
“The profitability of the finance industry has been excessive. For a while 35pc of all corporate profits in the United Kingdom and the United States came from the financial sector. That’s absurd.”
Mr Soros outlined how the problems that caused the Eurozone economic crisis remain largely unresolved.
“Very little has been done to correct the excess leverage in the European banking system. The equity in the banks relative to their balance sheets is wafer thin, and that makes them very vulnerable. "
Source: George Soros blasts 'parasite' banks - Telegraph
"George Soros, the billionaire investor, believes the banking sector is a “parasite” holding back the economic recovery and an “incestuous” relationship with regulators means little has been done to resolve the issues behind the 2008 crisis.
“The banking sector is acting as a parasite on the real economy,” Mr Soros said in his new book “The Tragedy of the European Union”.
“The profitability of the finance industry has been excessive. For a while 35pc of all corporate profits in the United Kingdom and the United States came from the financial sector. That’s absurd.”
Mr Soros outlined how the problems that caused the Eurozone economic crisis remain largely unresolved.
“Very little has been done to correct the excess leverage in the European banking system. The equity in the banks relative to their balance sheets is wafer thin, and that makes them very vulnerable. "
Source: George Soros blasts 'parasite' banks - Telegraph
I wonder if Bernanke is going to go with that motto, too. Still, I do agree with him, he is just exploiting the circumstances as they are, as loathsome a person as he may be. Central banks and governments give away tons of cash to willing recipients, which may result in speculative flows to asset/commodity markets. The reason so few politicians are willing to take on the banks is because if the banks did not participate in the fractional reserve system, any money printing the political class indulged in would be direct and visible. Whereas if the banks do it, it's much harder to discern the trajectory of the credit through the system, and you can just blame its effects (rising prices if not counteracted with productivity increases) on the greed of shopkeepers.
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