This is the current culture. The world is in the hands
of 25-year-olds. You're dealing with a subspecies
of humanity... ...that is currently shaping our lives
based on an incorrect world view. I'm not drinking this. All I see coming out is white. I watched your entire session.
Which commission is this exactly? It's a subpanel of the Commission
on Standards in Banking. They're hearing a number of
senior banking people... ...and a number of experts.
They're quite tough with all of them. And then there's some people
they hear to ease the tension. I felt quite good there. I sent an interview I'd done
to my interviewee. In reply he wrote
that his wife had read it... ...and she said: I finally understand
what you do. He'd been a banker for 20 years.
They'd been married for 20 years. So far he had not managed to explain
what he did there in his big glass office. So that's weird. It's really unbelievable. If you want to know about
recent gender studies in Gaza... ...you find ten papers easily. If you look into hedge fund managers,
you get really abstract descriptions... ...of how some economics professor
thinks they should work. But almost nothing about people who
actually spend time on the shop floor. We know more about ancient Egypt
than about the people... ...who currently shape our lives. We have some extracts here. This is how bankers are characterised. If there's one thing I learned
in the past 18 months... ...it's that this system
really only has losers. We should regard the bankers
as losers too. They are the best-paid losers,
but in exchange for all that money... ...they lead miserable lives
in a horrible environment. So this lady saying she wants to be
a banker in her next life... ...really hasn't understood
what a horrible environment it is. So I think we have to start
pampering them. If we're angry, they'll think
they have something that we want. They need that 'envy'
to keep up their self-image. Take Lloyd Blankfein.
He thinks he's doing the work of God. He oozes this self-image:
Everyone wants to be me. I see people who suffer from stress. This one is a cool customer.
But regular traders like these guys... ...are simply boys and girls
chasing after a promise. They dream of the good life, like we all
do. You can't hold that against them. But you're interested
in the bankers' brains. I am Peter Sioen, a psychologist. I've coached managers in
the City of London for eight years. Particularly managers who want to
improve, but are lost in the rat race. We're learning so much
about the brain now. It's a scientific new frontier
we're exploring. Every week brings new discoveries
and new knowledge. We're finding that it is all about
neurotransmitters and hormones... ...and chemicals in the brain. We've learned how greed affects
the brains of some people. A test of power
will trigger certain hormones... ...and make them even greedier
than before. We're clear on those
brain processes now. There's a lot of research
into psychopathology. It has been proved
through questionnaires... ...that there's a number of psychopaths
among top financial managers... ...showing the same characteristics
as psychopaths in prison. Based on these pictures I can't say
what goes on in their heads. That would be a mistake. Faces are the last place
where I would look. But young people who are always told:
you're the best... ...will obviously become arrogant. Particularly if you give them
shiploads of money. Their testosterone levels are high. This is the current culture. The world is in the hands
of 25-year-olds. On a personal note
I make this comparison: I've worked with victims of paedophilia
and with heroin addicts. Even in those with a limited IQ... ...when they look for their next victim
or shot, the brains takes over... ...and something happens that makes
these people smarter and sharper. With regard to criminals and
psychopaths in the business world: I think it's nature rather than nurture. Banks in particular
have certainly played that game... ...by attracting psychopathic individuals
to get bigger profits. It's not true that the financial sector
is dominated by psychopaths. But it is true that psychopaths,
or people who have no conscience... ...are tolerated there, and even
celebrated when they bring in a fortune. So it helps to have no scruples. A Goldman Sachs employee
described it in a book: They create an overcomplicated product
that seems safer than it is. The lawyers draw up
a sort of guarantee... ...that is no guarantee at all
but looks good in court. Then they call charities and say:
Listen, you invested this much... ...but the risk is high
if the interest rates change. We have a new product
to cover the risk. Then the so-called muppet on the
other end says: That sounds good. It could be an American charity
or a Dutch housing corporation. They'll speak to the treasurer
or whoever deals with the money. But these financial products are
so sophisticated and advanced... ...that only a few people
can understand them. And those who do
are snapped up by the banks. What a great formula. It reminds you of maths,
which you hated and were lousy at. This is how this guy takes revenge. He was good at maths
and got bullied because of it. And now he's the man. Theoretically, people in the financial
sector are all rational beings... ...who do transactions
purely out of self-interest. So you don't need a culture.
It's just mechanical exchanges. You draw up models,
you work out the risk factor. In theory the whole sector
can be regarded as a machine. In practice, 2008 proved the opposite. But science lags behind
and still hasn't investigated... ...how that sector works exactly, as
opposed to how they say they work. Mathematical genius is often found
in people with Asperger's. Many of the models used for creating
complex financial products... ...were made by people with Asperger's. It's one of the most fascinating groups
in today's society: Mathematical geniuses with Asperger's. I watched them at a conference once. They were exactly like
the financial model builders. Model builders talk about the temptation
to live exclusively in numbers. One said: When I see ducks
flying by my office window... ...I calculate which duck
will get there first... ...if the wind blows in from angle A
at speed B. It's so tempting to do nothing all day
but make calculations like that. These people live in a different world.
They literally say: 'If I had lived 100 or 200 years ago,
they would have burned me at the stake.' 'I would have been no good to society.' But now there's Big Data in Google
and models in banking. There's a brief moment when they can
do something the whole world wants. And they make
astonishing amounts of money. The point is: Asperger people
have trouble lying. They make models based exclusively
on reality as they perceive it. If you can't perceive lies and deceit... ...and people's tendency to operate
in an irrational way... ...then you can't model them either. All the models involved
in the financial crisis were flawed... ...because people lied
about their mortgages. People took out loans that they knew
they would never pay off. Mathematical geniuses
with light Asperger's tell me... ...that they can't conceive of this
because it's irrational. You're dealing with a subspecies
of humanity... ...that is currently shaping our lives
based on an incorrect world view. Something happens in the brain
that makes you... ...work out everything
to your own advantage. You think you and your team are great
and the others just don't get it. There are unacceptable risks. One
trader is doing 7 years for taking them. But the crisis of 2008 was more
about a very grey situation... ...in which many questions should
have been asked, but weren't. Not of the teams, or any of the banks,
or the supervisory authorities... ...or the rating agencies,
the accountants, the lawyers. Meanwhile, everyone was getting
rich on these unasked questions. That is much more threatening... ...than a bunch of creeps thinking up
things for which we are now paying. Instead we're faced
with a continuous process... ...that is incredibly difficult
to figure out... ...and all the incentives are such
that people will keep doing it. That's much scarier.
It's too optimistic to think... ...it was just a conspiracy.
It is a disaster. I talked to the losers who fell
off the pyramid on the way up. Some of them were kicked out
and lost what they had. Some are winners that made it, but
in their mid-40s suddenly thought: My God, I've barely seen my children,
I hardly know my wife... ...I'm a drinker and
I think in transactions 24/7. With everything I do, I figure out
if it makes me a winner or a loser. I am a wreck. About your current clients. How are they? Not great. Not great. There's a restaurant in a City building,
on the sixth floor. Every other month
a depressed banker jumps off there. It's a prime spot.
Times are bad. There still are restaurants
where the partying continues... ...if you know where to look. Bankers used to party in restaurants
with big open windows... ...so everyone could see them
drinking champagne. Now they party in places
you can't see into. That's a great metaphor. But still, people are sad and afraid. One of the traders is currently on trial. He caused the firm he worked for
to lose billions. Now he's the scapegoat.
He broke the rules, but he says: Everyone broke the rules.
This was my family. Boys were taken from their home towns
and brought into the banking world. Together with other guys their age
who were about as smart... ...they broke all the rules
and made billions as a team. Now the fall guy is crying in court:
These guys were my family. The idea of democracy was
that people would decide together... ...what kind of country they wanted. We're now finding out that an essential
part of that power is gone. It has run off into the hands
of people we don't understand... ...who have no loyalty whatsoever
towards us and who juggle numbers... ...in a very uncertain situation
for them as individuals... ...while as an industry
they are immovable. These are the people we obey. The solutions offered to Europe
by analysts in the financial sector... ...are about running Europe more
like a business bank. Easier sacking, fewer rights,
fewer relationships based on trust... ...and more based on conflict
and competition. They're making good headway. This work hasn't exactly made you
more optimistic. Does it show?
No, it really hasn't. 18-year-olds read my blog and write: Thank you for showing me
how to make it in business banking.
