Alasdair Macleod: The Coming Financial Iceberg

Alasdair Macleod discusses the risks of being a creditor to a bank and the potential for depositor funds to be used to bail-in a bank in the event of its failure. There is potential for a crisis of confidence as such legislation has been passed by the G20 countries and should be a concern to large depositors. He then looks at the derivatives market, which has grown massively since the 1980s during a declining rate environment. Now we're at the point where interest rates have nowhere to go but up. This, along with off-balance sheet debt, could have a major impact on the European banking system. He then turns his attention to China, whose economy appears to be recovering, with the government being in full control of their banking system. China is securing resources and has long-term contracts with other countries. In contrast to the West, who have pivoted away from the Saudi's, China is accepting gold for oil with long-term contracts. Macleod explains why gold is the only legal money in existence and why the COT Open Interest metrics suggest that the gold market is oversold. Finally, he comments on the situation with Ukraine and Russia and the potential for global changes that could lead to the destruction of Western currencies, and the importance of people acquiring real money, such as gold, as insurance. Talking Points From This Episode * Why Banks can use depositor funds to bail-in in the event of a failure.* The risks with derivatives market have grown massively in a low interest rate environment.* Golds importance in being legal money and it's usefulness as insurance. Time Stamp References:0:00 - Introduction0:40 - Banking Risks & Deposits5:18 - Bail Ins & Bail Outs9:33 - C.B. Balance Sheets11:40 - Rates & Derivatives16:55 - Pensions & Repo Market23:15 - Global Recession Risk29:04 - China, Oil, & Saudis35:06 - Bitcoin & Interest Rates41:32 - COT Report & Open Interest48:20 - Ukraine & Europe52:48 - Concluding Thoughts Guest Links:Twitter: https://twitter.com/MacleodFinanceWebsite: https://goldmoney.comResearch: https://www.goldmoney.com/research/ Alasdair Macleod is Head of Research for GoldMoney. He is an educator and advocates for sound money thru demystifying finance and economics. His background includes being a stockbroker, banker, and economist. Alasdair Macleod started his career as a stockbroker in 1970 on the London Stock Exchange. Within nine years, he had risen to become senior partner of his firm. Subsequently, he held positions at the director level in investment management and worked as a mutual fund manager. Mr. Macleod also worked at a bank in Guernsey as an executive director. For most of his 40 years in the finance industry, he has been demystifying macro-economic events for his investing clients. The accumulation of this experience has convinced him that unsound monetary policies are the most destructive weapon governments use against the common man. Accordingly, his mission is to educate and inform the public in layman's terms what governments do with money and how to protect themselves from the consequences.