It is with interest we observe the current events that unfold before our eyes; the deals being struck behind closed doors. The deals that will affect all of us - rich and poor, informed and ignorant. Loss of personal wealth and freedoms normally follow. What manner of person makes these decisions? We asked our members for any relevant information or anecdotes and this amusing story was related to us. 

I recall one Corporate team building event that I attended in Scandinavia a few years ago. You know the occasion, smart country hotel, well-lubed and fuelled with liquor and hors d'oeuvres. Representatives from each country and branch were mixed together to form a dozen different teams. On my team we had the CEO of the umbrella Corporation as well as the MD for one of the countries. Kindly, perhaps wisely, they all allowed me to lead and sure enough, as one, we won. So far so good - we all did our bit and shared in the glory.

To their credit we did the exercise in English, which added another level of complexity due to the International nature but it also relied upon local knowledge too. There was a kind of equilibrium in which no one team could succeed without several members cooperating. And where one team lacked the skills and knowledge to decipher a riddle, they traded solutions with a neighbouring team. Again good classic stuff.

Each team had been issued with a bag of items and a list of challenges. One of the items in the bag was a chocolate egg. Within moments, whilst the rest of us were making sense of the instructions, the MD went ahead and scoffed the egg. Again, no problem, we were magnanimous. Until we got to the last instruction that read:

Challenge #30: DO NOT EAT THE CHOCOLATE EGG! (100 points)

Uh-oh. Someone failed the EQ test! And it was worth a lot - enough to be a game-changer. At this point, we thought we were in a strong position but we knew we had a lot of aggressive and bright competitors. We ALL wanted to win. So, having realised that the success of everyone on our team was jeopardised by this transgression, we sent out an expedition (-10C outside is no joke when you are wearing Armani) to the nearest shops to see if we could buy a replacement. No such luck.

Then we then tried to fabricate a false egg by smoothing out the crumpled wrapping and stuffing it with paper mache. It looked more like a home-made hand-grenade than confectionery...

Finally humiliated and increasingly desperate as the deadline approached, the MD took it upon himself to rectify matters... Five minutes later he returned from a wander and proudly yet surreptitiously displayed the egg he had pinched from another nearby team. Ah, the triumphant glow of victory that blazed in his eyes... It must have lasted at least five minutes before an indignant competitor snatched it back and stomped off. Hoots of laughter ensued.

However, what astounded me was not that the behaviour of one of our team mates who was expected to be a model of fairness and respectability, was in fact the opposite given half a chance. No, there is always someone like that... What got me, was that each team had one or more petty villains who selfishly grabbed the goodies, got caught out and then tried to make amends by thieving from his neighbours.  Each one stood out like a sore thumb. And when they finally lost their ill-gained prize, they usually tried to rationalise their behaviour and/or destroy the evidence (the eggs) and deprive the others of their rightful possession. It was hilarious to see so many straight-laced executives degrade and commit juvenile antics. If they could get away with it - they would feel justified in doing so. Winning was everything and morality was never an issue. The rest of us ranged from being amused to privately aghast.

Looking back on these events now, I am struck by the similarity of this behaviour by top executives that I knew and those in the banking sector whom I do not. Or rather, we can know them by their deeds. They are selfishly grabbing the golden eggs and when caught out are seeking to steal the money from the taxpayers and consumers around them. And we, poor fools, keep behaving in the same way - we trust the financial systems to self-regulate and not to take advantage of our naive natures. But until our behaviour changes, theirs surely will not.

I should add one final important detail regarding my anecdote. As we were checking out of the hotel, it became apparent that some people were taking longer to settle their bar tab than others. There being an honour system where instead of paying for your drinks at the time of consumption, you merely gave a room number and the cost was added to the account. Of course, this bunch being what they were all gave the recognised villains' room numbers. Let's call it emergent justice and that their final settlements were hefty. If the bankers and their senior political lackeys wish to indulge in corrupt cronyism then maybe the people will find a way to put the bill back on their tab. The question then becomes, 'when'?

As a parting comment on the current events in the political and financial arenas, I refer you to a clip of an interview with author and journalist Nomi Prins. She is a former managing director of Goldman Sachs and a Bears Stearns analyst, and has some clear views on these topics.

Banks are like "Government-Sponsored Mafias"