HONG KONG — Standard Chartered Bank has an advertisement currently running on television that is eye-catching and thought-provoking. Its central message is that "not everything that counts in life can be counted" and that the bank wants to be "here for people; here for progress; here for the long run; here for good" (double-entendre intended).
The ad presents the classic picture of the bank as financial intermediary and entrepreneurs' and business executives' best friend, supporting them with lending and management advice to make new projects prosper and older businesses continue to run smoothly and profitably.
It is an image of bankers that has got lost in a modern age where big banks have become industrial-sized financial machines. However smart and charming they may be, it is hard to see the sharp-suited and well-heeled executives of Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley wandering through Africa or Inner Mongolia, or even outer Osaka, looking for budding entrepreneurs to support. Indeed, it is hard to see executives of the big Chinese banks spending much time tramping through green field sites.