First Parish Sermon First Parish Church has a free pulpit. The views expressed in First Parish sermons are those of each speaker, and not necessarily those of the church itself.
Many people assume that bankers like having money.
Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. The international financial markets were awash in funds, but a global financial recession had reduced demand for loans. Bankers could only make money on the petrodollars if they found ways to make more loans. In many cases, aggressive lending officers from the large private banks made highly questionable loans to developing countries that were unlikely to be able to repay them. About one-fifth of the money went to military spending, often for dictatorial regimes.