The German Sparkassen: A Commentary and Case study - Civitas

15. Conclusion
PART III: Conclusion and Appendices
Until the financial crisis, the predominant financial paradigm consisted of global bankers, ‘the Masters
of the Universe’, allocating funds where the highest rate of return was anticipated, irrespective
of the social or environmental impact on local economies and the people within them.
Bankers and leading economists and politicians were fascinated by a financial system that could
send trillions of dollars around the world almost instantaneously using computerised trading and
capitalising on split second spreads. The volume of financial trading relative to the real economy
increased hugely; a bubble was created by people who were basically betting against each other.
It was supposed to be innovative. It turned out to be disastrous and unsustainable.
There has to be a part of the financial system in Britain that operates not as an end in itself, but to
serve society and the real economy. Without this there is little prospect of rebuilding the economy
on the basis of real products and real services that produce real wealth for the benefit of the nation.
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