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Barnabas

Listed below are comments made by Barnabas between Saturday, 9th May 2009 and Wednesday, 23rd December 2009.

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Schumacher will be fighting rivals and the sands of time 2:28pm on 23 Dec 2009 As I have said before I do not think this a wise move for Michael. He is 40 and much older than the thrusting young bloods. More importantly he will be out to prove he is still good and his past record suggests that when he resorts to agressive tactics there ia a coming together (Damon?) with other drivers. He has not got the best record for on track discipline and coupled to his need to prove himself there could well be trouble. In addition for most of the races he won he had a clearly superior car and although driven superbly well the true performance against similar machines was not in view. My forecast? He will finish below 4th for the season and there will be at least a couple of "incidents" warranting examination. Sad, I know but that is Michael. I wish him well but I am not convinced that this is good for F1. I would like to be proved wrong.
Schumacher return looking increasingly likely 3:28pm on 22 Dec 2009 I am not as comfortable as some others seem to be about Michael's return. We have a 40 year old anxious to prove that he is still as good as ever in a car that almost certainly will not be as superior to the opposition as the Ferrari was and up against much younger drivers. There could be some very dangerous manoevres and Michael is not coy at giving the odd opponent a "shove". If we consider some of the "offs" he has had and has caused I remain distinctly nervous. I feel that he may be in for a very unpleasant season and with a significant number of bent cars and nasty multiples. No, I don't think it is good for the sport. Remember Damon?
Tories bash the rich 08:20am on 07 Oct 2009 There is a mood at the moment that suggests we "punish" all those who were employed in, or involved in, the credit crisis as if that would be good for the country, the economy and salve our concsiences. This is very negative and dangerous. We have to do everthing we can to encourage the wealth creators because as before - and Labour knows this well from history - there will be a flight of all these people out of the country. That includes both individuals and companies.

If an employee in any sector has performed extraordinarily well in his/her work then it should be perfectly possible to pay them a bonus - and the larger the better provided it reflects the business achieved. Don't forget one of the largest contributors of income tax to the exchequer is the City of London.

We MUST get away from this idea that bonuses are bad. They are NOT. What is bad is where bonuses are "guaranteed" regardless and where the performance is so short lived as to have no measurable benefit to the operation in the future. To that end it ought to be quite possible to make bonuses of a pre-determined level payable over, say,a 36 month period.

ALL the blame to my mind rests with those staff who determined the RISK in the lending function incorrectly - both internally and in the rating agencies.

Let's now get on with re-creating a truly dynamic and thrusting City of London.
Relishing Schumacher's return 3:16pm on 04 Aug 2009 I am not so sure that Michael's re-enrty into a Formula 1 seat is all that sensible. Whatever he has done he will not be "up to speed" and the cars have changed a great deal since he left the sport. In addition there is the natural temptation to prove that he is as good as the rest and the inherent risk that represents. With Ferrari under pressure he may feel that he can set things right and throw caution to the wind or commit a "Damon Hill" manoevre. I feel this forthcoming race could be bad news for him. We could do without another nasty Ferrari incident.
Rock: Crumbling less 10:59am on 04 Aug 2009 Although not an admirer of RP this time he is being practical and commercial. Northern Rock will come good in time and the Exchequer will in due course have its loans repaid and a profit from the sale of the company. Nothing can happen overnight. As far as bonuses go we want as many commission earning staff to earn the largest bonuses possible because that means the business is thriving. It is managerial bonuses that should be restrained and I am sure that is being done right now. Barclays and HSBC show what can be done even in this environment by a well run bank not dependent on government funding. We want banks to be more and more profitable and out there taking commercial risks by lending to business.
Business still being crunched by banks 3:51pm on 25 Jul 2009 The banks' treatment of SMEs is the most destructive of all the shortcomings of the banks in the present economic climate. The vast majority of the working population are employed by SMEs and those companies respond quickly to opportunities and new ideas. Denying them lending is much more likely to prolong high unemployment levels than anything else.

However, the banks can see an immediate high rate of return by acquiring money cheaply and lending to the retail customer sector where the margin is enormous. In my days as a corporate banker we used to say that "you crawled on your hands and knees into a large corporate borrower for just a quarter of a basis point" Not so with the SMEs - who have to pay much higher rates and yet the risk of a disater, if one fails, is minimal. Taking all the small businesses that any bank lends to the failure rate of these SMEs as a percentage of the total loan book is usually modest.

Darling should make it clear to the banks that the terms of the state funding require and expect lending to SMEs to be the key measurement as to the continuance of support to them..

NatWest and Lloyds seem to be the worst offenders.
BA: Loaded down 09:45am on 25 May 2009 Unfortunately all of BA has a certain arrogance about the way they look upon compeitors and above all customers. It is almost as if one is fortunate to be flying BA so don't complain.

That said my own experience is that the quality of their flight deck crews and engineering are outstanding and the safety record excellent. What Walsh has to do now is to match his cost cuting strategy with a new enlivening approach of his staff - at all levels - to customer relationships. As many will confirm some of the "oldies" still flying have an expression on their faces of disgust that they have to serve you as a passenger. They make it feel as if it is all beneath them.

There is much that can be done and it will improve their image and in due course bring in extra customers. They must remember that virtually the only face of BA that the customer sees is the cabin crew. I married a British Caledonian girl and believe you me they were the tops - and accepted as such by their peers. Those were the days when if you got married you had to leave. Come on BA you can make it but you have to brighten up the whole flyng experince for the customer!
Victor Blank may be proved right (eventually) 2:04pm on 18 May 2009 I am afraid I detect an undertone of disgust if not horror that the banks are now accumulating substantial profits - even if not reserves to the extent they would wish. One of the problems of the finance industry is that it is highly complex and crucial to all of our lives. Strong banks give re-asuurance both to businessmen and foreign clients and investors.

Of course they behaved extremely foolishly at a certain level by failing to deternine risk correctly but the sooner they become strong and fit again the better it will be for all parties.

Let's move on and recover from the recession hurt but wiser.
MPs' tax muddle 08:48am on 14 May 2009 I simply cannot conceive of an expense system that could not be constructed to meet all circumstances of non-Westminster accessible MPs by their legal boffins. The whole business smells of "snouts in the trough" only exceeded by the Brussels "gravy train" (led by the Kinnock family cashing in on European laxity where the external auditors have refused to sign the accounts for years and years because of perceived fraud and corruption)). If your principal home - which must be declared at the outset and where your spouse/partner and family are based (no such issue if you are single) -is more than, say 15, miles from London (they can commute like we have to do and late night taxis could be covered) then you should be entiltled TO RENT A FLAT or APARTMENT up to a given amount each month. If you want better, you pay it yourself.

The cost of furniture for unfurnished accomodation could be included (again up to a limit)and a modest daily subsistence allowance.

There you are. Dusted and sorted.

Now lets deal with the real issues like health, education and crime.

Good old Norman Tebbit. Says it like it is again.

Good heavens that dates me - but I did meet him in Tescos once! How's that for fame.
Royal Bank as Jekyll and Hyde 08:14am on 09 May 2009 I come to this site as a retired banker so I read with interest the most recent comments. Firstly let me admit that I have always been hostile and critical of Robert Preston's comments, not because they lack accuracy but because he, in my view, presents them in cheap tabloid format i.e. over dramatissing the issues.

Returning to the RBS saga I can assure you that British Banks are fully conscious of what went wrong and how they allowed themsekves to be seduced into trading securitised mortgages on which they had not exercise full and detailed due diligence. That said, the two most problematic institutions were those that had acquired building societies - namely Bank of Scotand and Royal Bank of Scotland. Northern Rock personifid the "gung ho " attitude to the finacial markets and led by a non-banker were doomed to fail. Strangely enough those of us from the banking world of the 70s to 2000s always viewed the Scottish institutions as extremely cautious and reserved. I can only assume that they brought in non-bankers with a strong marketing bent who were determined, almost at any price, to grow their companies and grab the rewards. If any of you had listened to the excellent debates on this subject in the House of Lords during the crisis it would have made you weep to see seasoned former bankers reeling in shock and incredulity at the absurd performance of the "new boys".

British banking is till solid and safe, whether you regard the Government's stance correct or not, and they will survive and grow to be strong again. The advantage of the capitalist system is that it can take shocks like this and regrow rapidly. Just be patient and watch the markets.

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