Perspective

On Thursday afternoon, just about the time when many of us were wrapping up business to break away for a well-deserved holiday weekend, Newsweek’s Howard Fineman was posting a web exclusive story from the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. In case you missed this article entitled “In Search of Optimism”, it recounted comments by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to PBS’s Charlie Rose:

"The economy is virtually unfathomable," he began. "I hope we have hit bottom, but I can't really say." On the upside, he said, we all need to maintain some historical perspective. In 1987, he reminded the crowd, the stock market had dropped 25 percent in one day. The current depressing run was months in the making. Nor is the situation like 1982, when we faced a recession driven by sky-high interest rates. By historical standards, unemployment is relatively low at 5.5 percent. But as a country we face rising economies elsewhere around the world—trading partners increasingly turned competitors—energy costs and above all a lack of political will to use government well.

These cautionary comments from a man who many call “America’s top banker”, should remind us about the importance of perspective in times of great uncertainty. While most community bankers and credit union executives don’t have the advantage of Mr. Dimon’s unique situation, they can certainly benefit from his point of view.

Too often, current events and market news prompt us to make hasty choices. But perspective and context can counteract fear and help guide choices that will shape the future of the financial services industry.