lost the shame

On balance, it can be seen that the gains resulting from the remarkable performance of the GDP did not end up in the hands of pensioners, or workers in the private sector, nor civil servants, all with increases in 2022 below inflation: they ended up in the hands of the State and the bank. National bankers ride the wave of euphoria with interest rates on loans that are a tourniquet for families and companies and remunerate customers’ savings with rates close to zero. And with that, they celebrate the “success” of their management, announcing extravagant profits to shareholders and awarding themselves the corresponding pornographic management prizes. “It’s the market working”, says the president of the Association of Banks, Vítor Bento. No, it’s not: it’s exactly the opposite, it’s a small market, working in concert, distorting the rules of the game. And, therefore, when the public bank announces a more decent behavior, a banker (António Esteves, in the last Expresso) appears, defending that it makes no sense to have a public bank and that CGD should be privatized. It seems that people no longer remember that this was done in the past and that, after several less than edifying adventures, national bankers who did not rush to sell their banks to foreigners ended up being rescued by the State after indecent bankruptcies. It cost us over 20 billion euros, which could have been spent on so many more things that the country needs and whose gratitude the class demonstrates now and again.

But, in their place, I would use caution. This tone of arrogance with which they address us today is certainly still heir to the belief once announced by Fernando Ulrich about the patience of the Portuguese: “Oh, they can handle it, they can handle it!” Well, I wouldn’t be so sure. History sometimes makes unforeseen somersaults and nothing guarantees them that the next time they are down and in a panic someone will feel sorry for them.

This is an article from the weekly Expresso. Click HERE to continue reading.