respect bestowed upon them. No legislation in this world can
become the panacea for eliminating unbalanced judgements and
fraudulent practices. It must be the responsibility of the
management of our financial institutions to guard against human
failing and weaknesses. In that respect, perhaps bankers should
consider providing intensive training programmes for their up and
coming managers not only in respect of their professional skills
but also in respect of the field of character development.
Finally, in the light of the severe ups and downs.
experienced since 1979 by our property and stock markets, a
phenomenon which probably contributed indirectly to a series of
banking problems, it is understandable that the screws are being
tightened through measures taken by both the Administration and
the banking industry. I support wholeheartedly the rationale
behind those measures. However, I wish to caution against
adopting an overkill psychology. Lending institutions act as a
vital lubricant to the smooth running of any economy. In our
case, for the next few years, with domestic demand subsiding
somewhat from its dizzing height, our economic growth will most
likely be led by our traditional trading and industrial sectors.
It is imperative that their growth prospects should not be choked
by the natural emotional over swing of attitudes of our bankers
from being overtly aggressive to being overtly defensive in their
lending policies.