Low interest rates stimulate laziness in project execution and in revision of investment decisions

Sir, Izabella Kaminska is not going to be much loved today as she bravely points out to many the very uncomfortable possibility that they might have fallen head over heels “for fanciful narratives or investor cults”. Well done! That is going to generate a lot of soul-searching. “Cultish long-termism can hobble investors” September 13.

I would though like to remind Kaminska that much of “investors’ forgiving attitudes” could be explained by current extraordinary low interest rates. Just like these introduce much laziness in the execution of projects these can also provoke fewer revisions of investment strategies. Also, do not the sheer existence of negative interest rates help fuel the “grandeur of the futuristic visions being touted”?

PS. I would not refer to Andrew Haldane as a great champion for long-termism. As a regulator he has supported the extraordinary short-termism imbedded in the risk weighted capital requirements for banks. These keep banks from financing the “riskier” future our grandchildren need to be financed, having them basically just refinancing the “safer” present.

@PerKurowski

Daft regulators hinder the access to bank credit of “risky” SMEs, those who could most make low interests productive

Sir, Joel Tillinghast, with his letter, and Tony James with his opinion express well serious doubts on the validity of low interests “Low interest rates are leaving pension plans desperately underfunded” and “The Fed can revive the economy with higher rates” October 24.

I would add two comments to theirs. The first is that in my experience little introduces so much pressure to get a project fast to its revenue generating point as high interest rates. In the same manner, low interest rates, can cause project laziness.

The second, much more important, is that too many SMEs and entrepreneurs, and who would love to access those lower rates cannot do so. Since banks are required to hold more capital when lending to SMEs and entrepreneurs, on account of daft regulators thinking these borrowers constitute a risk to the stability of bank systems, they get no bank credit. All worsened by the fact that since banks become less profitable, bank capital itself becomes harder and harder to access. 

As to “alternative” financing sources for those “risky” actors desperate for an opportunity to invest, Tillinghast reminds us well of “that low interest rates do not mean lower credit card or payday loan rates”.

@PerKurowski ©