Deutsche Bank rejects church charge

[Adsos Letter]

Source: Financial Times

Deutsche Bank reacted angrily on Friday after Germany’s senior Protestant bishop accused Josef Ackermann, its chief executive, of turning money-making into a form of “idolatry”.

In a rare and testy public exchange between a prominent German financial institution and a religious leader, Deutsche Bank dismissed as “inappropriate” the remarks by Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of Germany’s evangelical church council.

Germany’s largest bank was upset by the timing of the personal attack, made in a newspaper interview published on Christmas Eve, as well as the substance of the censure.

Speaking to the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, Bishop Huber argued that bankers had a duty to look beyond the short term and to ensure stability: “Never again should a Deutsche Bank chief executive set a profit goal of 25 per cent.” Such goals drove up profit expectations to unsustainable levels and amounted to “a form of idolatry”, he said. “In the current circumstances, money has become a god.”



Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9b0453f6-d37c-11dd-989e-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

[eleny]

1. Good for Bishop Huber

I'm not religious but it's nice to see someone like the Bishop jab the bank in its fat ass.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

2. Germans have always been a bit testy about churches saying things about their banks.

The tension between northern German princes and their financiers and the Pope helped make the land ripe for Luther's movement. It's nice to see the good bishop denouncing that practice in a new way.

[roguevalley]

16. usury is a sin. they deserve it, the fuckers.

[JDPriestly]

3. The bishop is following the teachers of Jesus. The banks abhor

the teachings of Jesus. I'm with the good bishop on this one for sure.

[ashling]

7. following the teachers of Jesus

Were those the nuns? ... or did he go to another "Christian" school?
:shrug:

[JDPriestly]

11. Sorry. I meant "teachings," not "teachers."

[Ex Lurker]

4. But wait, some DU'ers will tell you religion is the root of all evil

this Huber fellow must have an ulterior motive :sarcasm:

[Adsos Letter]

5. This can be a proper role of religion in the debate between religion and government...

pointing out social injustice, "calling it out," as it were, and relying on persuasion, rather than political influence, to help maintain a just society.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Not all, just a very large part of it.

[Hydra]

13. Generally, religions support people like DB and established power

Against the teachings of their book. This, and the conservative preacher the other day arguing for separation of church and state are oddballs and take flak for actually championing the cause- and for that, I salute my fellow rebels and agitators :evilgrin:

[and-justice-for-all]

14. oh yes, religion is the root of all evil IMO....

But from time to time one of the nutters does come to terms with reality and makes a move like this. It is rare, but it does happen, so where does Herr Huber stand on Gay rights?

[reorg]

18. the evangelical church in Germany is rather liberal

The "Law to end the discrimation of same-sex partnerships" (Gesetz zur Beendigung der Diskriminierung gleichgeschlechtlicher Partnerschaften, 2001) establishes "registered lifelong partnerships" (Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaften) as equivalent with marriage in all but its name (all other laws in Germany were adapted accordingly), and the Evangelical Church - as opposed to the Catholics - supported it. With respect to so-called "blessings" (Segen) by the Church for such partnerships, the Evangelical Church is divided, some state churches provide for such a procedure, others don't. All of them carefully avoid to call it marriage, though.

There are openly gay ministers, some of them living in "registered lifelong partnerships" and one of them recently came close to being elected bishop in Hamburg.

[No Elephants]

17. Jesus condemned the organized religion of His time as much or more than he condemned the

love of money. Maybe the love part is the issue with both religion and money.

[aquart]

8. Church lost a hunk of change?

When I was on Wall Street long ago, my boss' top clients were the Church of England, the Vatican, and the Nazis in Madrid (all right, I'm the one who called them Nazis...no idea what they called themselves...ex-Nazis, maybe).

[originalpckelly]

9. FU DB

:P

If I agree with a man of religion, then it's just plain crazy, but true.

[47of74]

10. Maybe Bishops around here would get more respect

If they stopped criticizing people for not voting Republican and started criticizing the rich for a freaking change.

[knitter4democracy]

12. Well, of course the bank's upset: he's right.

Money is their god if they're going for profits of 25% when people are suffering. It's like the Middle Ages all over again.

[bemildred]

15. Should stability not be a high priority in managing an economy?

This issue gets to little attention. Look at the US with its repeated bubbles and collapses. Is this a good way to run a business? Or a country?