Why Banks Are Unpopular

Abstract

We are going through a period in which the banking community has increasingly come to be regarded with hostility; this is certainly the case in my own country. Antipathy toward bankers has old roots: it is said of Schopenhauer that, on visiting the gallery where the portraits of the Fugger were hung and observing their images, he exclaimed: ‘When I look at your faces I have to admit that God is not with you.’ I propose to examine the reasons for the resentment which is felt toward bankers and banks in some countries.