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Economist enjoy 'Credit Brunch' with Old Boy and City high-flyer
Our current generation of Economists were given a fly on the wall's view of the melt-down in the world's financial institutions when Old Boy Graham Broyd came in to talk to Sixth Form students.
Currently the Global Head of Short Term Markets and Financing for the RBS Group, Graham was previously the Country Manager for all RBS Corporate Banking and Financial Markets businesses in the US, with various roles for JP Morgan Chase and Lloyds Bank International in London, New York and Panama.
Over an hour long lecture and question and answer session, the former Formby teenager whose father worked for Unigate in Aintree, gave a blow by blow account of how JPMorgan Chase acquired Bear Stearns on March 15, 2008, but how exactly six months later Lehmann Brothers was allowed to go the wall triggering a collapse in global markets and the ensuing financial crisis.
Describing his own part in the decision making process, Graham said: "Economics is a science, Economics is based on accepted principles, but its success doesn't just depend on the decisions of a few bank CEOs or politicians, but on 100,000 of different people in different locations and roles around the world making their own decisions."
His own view of the long term causes of the current economics crisis echoed Economic Historian Niall Ferguson's theory of western cultural aspiration.
"For some decades most governments, led by the US and the UK, key principle was to provide mass housing for everyone. It's a worthy and good principle but to facilitate this they had to set up financial institutions and structures that could manage the trillions and trillions of dollars, always endeavouring to make it cheaper and cheaper and cheaper for everyone to own their own home. It was when parts of this system failed that the problems set in."
Graham said afterwards: "I didn't want to talk about economic theory but give an account of what actually happened. I wanted to talk about the difference between economic history and economic practice; how the regulatory framework works in the City, the Foreign Exchange System and the role of national reserves."
Graham attended Merchants' from 1972 to 1976, and was captain of the Swimming and Athletics teams. He then took two gaps years to travel the world, before going to Birmingham University to read International Studies.
Now working in London, but with his family home in affluent Scarsdale in New York, Graham took a full day from his schedule to return to his former haunts. During his visit he was presented the Broyd Swimming Cup, originally donated by his father in 1975 to Merchants' current swimming captain Jack Collins, who aims to lead the school to the national finals next year.
Graham said: "Even though I left some 33 years ago I am delighted to see some of the old faces that taught me still here and know that many others only left three or four years ago. That says so much for the continuity and quality of teaching provision and the loyalty of staff to one of Liverpool's great academic institutions."
Mr Kay, Head of Economics at the Senior Boys' School, said: "I don't think there is any other educational institution in the country that will have been fortunate enough to gain such a first hand account of recent momentous events and to listen to someone who has such an intimate knowledge of what actually happened."
Mr Kay added: "Our Old Boys have traditionally gone on to play key roles in the economy, and I am certain many of those in the audience will have learned lessons that they simply could not get from the A-Level text books."
