By Chris Zappone
Bankers, targeted by critics for their hand in the financial crisis, are being urged to stage events in Australia's capitals to draw attention to the good they have done the world.
Clifford Bennett, the Sydney-based White Crane group economist best known for correctly predicting the Australian dollar would far surpass parity with the greenback, has organised the first event in Sydney next week, part of a trend he hopes will catch on nationally in order to improve the image of bankers in the eyes of a wary public.
Wall Street's failings shouldn't dent Aussie bankers' image, group says.Credit: AFP Photo
"The Occupy Sydney movement has gained a lot of attention in the media, and yet what they seem to be against, globalisation in general, and bankers in particular, have actually been two very powerful ingredients involved in the lifting of millions people around the world out of poverty," said Mr Bennett.
The Sydney event, to be held at the fashionable Ivy club on Monday, is to support the Youth Off the Streets charity for young drug-addicts and homeless people. It will include shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey, along with Miss World Australia runner-up Sonia Lipski. The event is being supported by The Investors Club, which hosts property investment-related activities.
Tower view
"My goal is to hold a 'Local Financials Aware' event in each capital city CBD, to provide the opportunity for the financial community, to show appreciation and awareness of their immediate local community," said Mr Bennett.
"We do not overlook them as we peer out of our towers toward other financial centres around the world," he said.
The call for a counter demonstration by the bankers of Australia comes four years after the global financial crisis erupted, resulting in massive bailouts of banks in a number of Western economies.
The recessions, bailouts and cutback by governments have condemned young workers in many countries, including Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland, the UK, and US, to long-term unemployment. Anger of the shift in fortunes also helped catalyse the Occupy movement worldwide last September.
'Soft austerity'
Although Australia has avoided the worst of the damage related to the financial crisis, a so-called "soft austerity" has gripped the local economy. The finance industry has been among the hardest hit as consumers and businesses cut back on credit.
Mr Bennett, however, points to rapid growth in the developed world over recent decades as an achievement led by bankers and financiers.
"We have seen the emerging nations of Asia and Latin America, become in fact, the 'new first world' of strong economic growth and prosperity," he said.
"Globalisation, including that of financial markets, has greatly supported this significant move forward for humanity," he said.
The banking industry suffered its latest public relations black-eye last week when an executive resigned from Goldman Sachs, through an open letter to the New York Times in which he lambasted US-based investment bank for its amoral culture of greed.
Australian Bankers' Association chief Steven Munchenberg acknowledged the difficulty the industry faced in the public's eye.
"It's important for the banking industry to recognise that it's part of a wider community," he said. "We are aware that some of the negative attitude to the industry is there because we're not seen making enough of a contribution back to society."
"The community's frustrations with banks has obviously increased through the GFC particularly given what's happened with banks overseas but this still reflects on the banking industry in Australia," Mr Munchenberg said.