My comments re How Financial Brands Should Market In a Recession - John Quelch - HarvardBusiness.org

How Financial Brands Should Market In a Recession - John Quelch - HarvardBusiness.org

[The turmoil and distrust in the financial services sector is an open invitation to other non-financial companies to exploit the brand vacuum created by the demise of the likes of Merrill Lynch and RBS. Look to Tesco, the leading retailer in the United Kingdom, to extend further its reach into financial services. Look to trusted brands like Wal-Mart and even Google in the United States to do the same. After all, the financial services industry is crying out for a brand that promises to "do no evil." ]

One need to remember that trust is based on 'perception'+'emotion', which is more qualitative than quantitative. However, 'social norm' or 'group think' may steer people en mass towards even danger, typical lemmings behaviour.

In short, the present credit crisis maybe due to Greed, but essentially is a market structural issue, where fundamentally the wheels of the machine is broken, just by changing the gears might not fix the problem. Nor would it fix it by putting more tiny gears in between, or monitors how the existing gears works.

No one, be it the financial sector nor regulators worldwide has suggested any potential solutions.

Sadly I had maybe already a solution even back in 2004, by forming GamBond® (spearheading & creating a default risk bond insurance market), which initially focus only in one sector (but aim to expand to all remotely trading sectors & then offline). This is mostly because insolvency/default risks is generally much more insulated within a specific sector (market, regulatory, trading risks are all quantifiable and benchmark-able).

All the advisors/VCs/PEs firms whom I tried to raise funds from (sadly I have not yet managed to do so!) KEPT telling me to use Credit insurance and Credit Default Swaps (CDS), I kept firm and said no, as I personally don't understand them and all I care about is the point of default, as we can easily monitor Cash flow, trading risk, regulatory risks, competitive risks, and put a specific price on it.

Long story short, most of the people I approach (some super senior, and gurus in the financial sector) still don't understand/nor do they care.

They prefer to look at the present problems of the gears, than recognise the fact, and change the gearbox.

I am still hopeful, but sadly, lemming effect dictates that 'boys will be boys'..

back to the suggestion of Google bank? not likely, as google is now trusted as provider of search.. but it is NOT a bank, likes of Cahoot/Egg from UK were successful was due to coming out of an established 'trusted' bank.

Google might be rich, as search provider, and internet heavy weight (in minds of people that uses internet), for majority of the public now worldwide, for Google to jump to be compared to FSA regulated (even that is not as trusted! hence my point of gearbox change) is too big a leap.

time to change, ok, at least lets consider the options of changing the gearbox first!??

@GarethWong

- Posted by Gareth Wong