Credit, banking's essence, set for rethinking

摘要

Former banker Bill Barksdale is either a card-carrying cynic, or, at least, a realist with a respect for history. When he retired from a senior vice-presidency at Wachovia in 1997, he sold his company shares shortly thereafter. Friends asked him why. "I was in the risk management business for 30 years," Barksdale told them, "and I know that every 12 years or so, lenders screw it up." Retired Wachovia chief John Medlin used to say, "Real estate is the cocaine of the banking business," says Barksdale. Invariably, he says, real estate somehow underlies many periods of credit turmoil, and it's not unusual for many to get religion.