Former Deutsche Bank CEO Hilmar Kopper: ‘Money Needs Laws’
As the former head of Deutsche Bank, Hilmar Kopper was once the most powerful banker in Germany. In an interview with SPIEGEL, the 76-year-old takes stock of his career and the current crisis shaking Europe. The three main constants he has seen in the world, he says, are “money, avarice and greed.”
SPIEGEL: Mr. Kopper, to this day, you are still viewed as one of Germany’s most accomplished financial professionals. When was the last time you were berated as a banker?
Kopper: Oh, it happens all the time. But sometimes people also ask for explanations. At any rate, I try to grapple with their accusations, even though they are often irrational, full of resentment and almost devoid of any knowledge about the subject. I am an old man and no longer have to worry about offending people. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I have become the apologist of my profession. After all, I’ve been a banker for more than 55 years, and I still like doing it!
SPIEGEL: Then you ought to be worried, because resentment toward your industry now extends into the upper classes.
Kopper: Since when is the upper class a benchmark of judgment? I admit that banks haven’t done everything well and correctly. There were excesses, like unnecessary financial products and false incentives. In short, mistakes were made, the kinds of mistakes that have been inherent in every innovation and every bubble from time immemorial, and that emerge when the bubble bursts. Everything has its price.
SPIEGEL: National lawmakers can hardly keep up with the pace of monetary transactions. And there are hardly any international controls.
Kopper: There was a promise of better international regulation. But this promise hasn’t been kept, at least not until now. I certainly find fault with that. We mustn’t forget that regulators, custodians and rating agencies also bear some responsibility.
SPIEGEL: Many of your active colleagues tend to duck away whenever someone asks for an explanation or even an opinion.
Kopper: I can understand the reluctance of my younger colleagues. The level of discussion is simply too flat. And then they’re afraid of being asked the question: What have you yourself done? It resembles the question that my generation still asked its fathers: Where were you in this war?
SPIEGEL: People don’t die in the financial crisis …
Kopper: … but values do — in every sense of the word.