Protectionism everywhere! Ex-Singaporeans who migrated to other lands are
in for a rough ride! Good luck !
“What
you’re seeing is a form of financial protectionism
where banks retreat to their home base,” Brown said
in Davos. “The tendency at the moment will be to either retreat
into protectionism or retreat into doing nothing.”
Lagarde said at a Jan. 31 press conference in Davos that bank
bailouts and fiscal stimulus plans are “implicit
protectionism.”
Brown’s government led a bailout of British banks, including
Edinburgh-basedRoyal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, which he accused
of taking “irresponsible risks.” In return for taxpayer funds,
banks have been required to maintain lending at 2007 levels to
offset a withdrawal of loans from foreign banks.
Rise in Protectionism
Gary Cohn, co-president of New
York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said he’s concerned about
an increase in protectionism in industries like banking and
automobile manufacturing that have been supported by taxpayer
money.
“Are the U.K. financial institutions going to lend money to other
corporations in other countries and withstand the loss?” Cohn said.
“I don’t know what the answers are, but it’s definitely an
interesting question.”
Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., said at a panel discussion in Davos that
he too was concerned about protectionism.
“A leading French industrialist told me how the government there,
the President there, says ‘I understand you have to make savings in
France, but don’t fire anyone in France,’” Murdoch said. “There’s
been a very dangerous move towards protectionism in many
places.”
