Mike's Minute: The banks aren't reading the mood

There is little in life more nauseating than a sycophant.  These are people who do not what they believe is right, but bend to the whim, flavour, or mood of the day.  The corporate world is full of it.  The tech giants have been badly exposed as they decide fact checking is for losers now that big Don is running the place.  The battle is being fought locally as well. There is word New Zealand First are looking at a members bill to make banks do business properly.  Currently, and this is also a major debate in Australia, banks have taken the stance that there are some businesses that they don’t like. Those dabbling in fossil fuels is one of them.  They have made getting money hard work. They have not done this because there isn't profit or because these businesses default. They have done this because fossil fuels are out, and climate change is in.  The coalition in Australia, who at this stage are odds on to become the Government midyear, are going hard because fossil fuels are of greater importance to them than they are here.  But the role of the banks, once again, is being called into question.  In this country the Government is gunning for them over margins and competition. The last thing they need is another fight over their right, or predilection, for doing business with some people and not others.  As the former chair of our biggest bank John Key quite rightly pointed out on this programme a number of times said, banks have a very large social licence. They are a backbone of an economy. It is not their job to play politics, or trend setter to the groovy mood of the day.  Fossil fuels remain vital for keeping the lights on. You might not like that but it's true.  If it changes, that's brilliant. Right now it isn't, or hasn’t been, enough.  Morals are personal choices, not business ones, and certainly not in businesses with the influence banks have.  The thought that a Government might have legislate to make a business behave itself shows you how badly these places are reading the mood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.