President Barack Obama recently called on banks to help out the country that bailed them out. So my question now is which bank is going to step up their game and respond to this call? Any of them?
Banks are interested in basically one thing: making money. So is there a way for banks to help the country and turn a profit at the same time? Hell yes there is. Obama isn’t calling on banks to just hand out money, but to give loans to budding small businesses. The reason we got into trouble in the first place was because banks were giving out loans to anyone that was capable of signing their name on a sheet of paper.
There’s a big opportunity here for a bank to step it up and respond to Obama’s call for lending. If a bank comes out and says if you have good ideas and a solid business plan we’re going to lend you money, we’re going to get this country back on track (even though their real motivation is to turn a buck, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive. The bank doesn’t make money if you default). Most banks establish a relationship through a small business checking account before approving a loan.
There’s a real opportunity for a bank to look like a hero and turn a profit by giving out loans to good small businesses. They can even rally good small businesses around them by responding to Obama’s request. I think a lot of the big banks have forgotten that you can make money without screwing people over. It takes more work, but in that scenario everyone wins and that’s the scenario that will be economically sustainable for them and us. They need to think about the best long term business plan, not just turning a quick buck. So which bank is going to step up and answer Obama’s call?