stewart's hairpiece

The new CEO elect of the NAB wears a hairpiece which of itself is no big deal. However I simply but see it as symbolic of the entire NAB problem. The bank is using all of its cosmetic PR to cover the rot that has become the NAB. But make no mistake it is still big. Big on capital, bigger still on inefficiency, bigger still on concealment of the truth and bigger still on the absence of quality in their management, staff and operational qualities.

But in a cuontry like Australia where banking is an oligopolistic activity, they can absorb all the wealth we can create as a nation and lose some in the process which is waht they do.

NAB still has a bunch of unqualified and corruptly placed individuals in positions dealing with decisions that affect the money of its shareholders. No not those 'rogue traders',. They simply represent a culture we adopted like a virus from britain and the US where private well connected HR companies supply their idea of whats good for the bank. Young, under 25, with the right universities (not necessarily good degrees) behind them and the right social pedigree.

The greatest damage that the NAB has thus far faced did not eventuate under Ciucutto. It happened under Big Eared Don Argus. The establishment kept quiet, the conveniently did a Barry Unsworth on Ciucutto and for the right price the goat bought it and became their fall guy.

But I suppose in a country of small fortunes (made out of spending large ones) anything goes as long as you have a good PR machine (or even a bad one) and a hypothesis for a regulator to keep things in place. It even helps to have an ignorant public who are also apathetic.