Banking is really very simple. It became very complicated when the computer was introduced. What need to be done is to move back to simplicity again. If somebody is able to do this the possibilities are tremendous. If ABN AMRO and Fortis are able to recreate a simple bank again they could Change History.
To keep this blog simple you have to believe the essence of Banking is the Movement of Cash-Flows. A cash-flow is a transaction between two actors.
Every product a Bank is offering at this moment is very complicated construction where cash-flows are manipulated.
A Customer is doing the same thing. He is constantly trying to Balance his Cash-Flows. What a Customer expects from a bank is a Trusted Advisor that is helping him to find Balance.
A Bank could become a Community of Customers who are Helping each other to Balance their Cash-Flows.
For some people it is very easy to balance. They have a nice stable job, good health, friends that are helping them, they are succesful in their business. They have accumulated money. At the other side of the spectrum we can find the opposite. People are without a job, sick, without friends or without a home.
The Cooperative Banks that were created in the beginning of the 20th century tried to find a way to balance the extremes. They got the idea that somewhere in the middle everything was compensated. They believed in Solidarity.
If you want to Keep the Balance you need to do more than "manipulating streams of money". You need to take care of the sick, you have to provide jobs and provide housing. The Cooperative Movement started to build houses (Woningbouw-vereniging), created collaborative hospitals and insurance companies. They started to educate (Het Volkshuis) and took care of the huge addiction to alcohol. The Collaborative Movement was financed by "Enlightened" Entrepreneurs who created jobs and even build complete cities.
I hope you see "the big picture". When we see a Bank as the Center of a Community we are able to connect this Center to other Centers (Healthcare, Education, Housing,…).
If we move to the right level of Coordination we are able to Balance the Whole of Centers and Create Harmony. http://hans.wyrdweb.eu/node/596
The Technical Infrastructure to do this is available. It uses the concept of Software-Services and a Kernel based on a Dialogue between these Services (The Software-Bus). The Infrastructure also contains a Monitor who is able to Balance the Centers. Cordys (www.cordys.com) is one of the Providers who has build such an Infrastructure.
A Technical Infrastructure has to be embedded in a Social and an Ecological Infrastructure. The concept of Panarchy is one of the beautifull concepts that can be of help. People have to exchange stories and create new myths. Here we can use the Concept of the Chronotope of Bahktin. http://hans.wyrdweb.eu/node/617
When you read my Blogs you will see that I have written many many blogs about this subject. Just take a tour.
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Tags: cooperative banks, stable job
