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PARADIGM SHIFT- BANKING & FINANCE

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There are trends that are relentlessly impacting on the main pillars of the existing world system. These tendencies, in their essence, are foundational, hence, not easily amenable to tinkering around the edges. We will start with the global banking/financial system, which has become the supreme arbiter between capital and collective humanity, to say nothing about its direct/indirect bearing on nature itself. Modern finance’s esoteric pretensions, particularly as pontificated by its imbecile functionaries, aka (also known as), ‘masters of the universe’, is neither interesting nor productively challenging to immerse oneself into its nitty-gritty operational features. Suffice is to deal with its main footings. The art of creating money out of thin air is the corner stone of the currently collapsing global financial system. This refined, but thoroughly fraudulent art is called ‘fractional reserve banking’!

If an individual tries to print money (currencies-dollars, birr, shillings, etc.) at home, it will be considered an outright crime. But when organized Mafiosi, aka, banks, create money out of thin air, via the creation of credit/loan {ultimately un-payable debt that will be promptly transferred on the back of the sheeple, through taxation, inflation, etc.} and disperse this (newly created) money to cronies so that they can access the real economy (without hardly raising a finger and rather negatively, by encouraging mal-investment & waste of resources); it is praised as the fountain head of all goods in the polarizing world system. The gullible are indoctrinated to celebrate all hangers-on (of the banking system), particularly the bank-preneurs and oligarchs, as if they were modern day entrepreneurs forging growth & development worldwide! This whole massive fraud, which has been perfectly legalized, thanks to the paid politicos of the world system (under the payroll of the global banksters), is now coming apart at the seams. At the end of the day, money printing dilutes honest money, such as wages/salaries, etc., which are earnestly earned by the working stiff. At the same time, money printing allows parasites that cling to the money faucets to benefit without much efforts; just look at the oligarchs and their parasitic ways! In the words of the famous industrialist: ‘If people really know what the banks are doing, there will be a revolution tomorrow!’ Henry Ford.

The ‘fractional reserve banking’ is backstopped by the globally prevailing ‘central banking system’, the authorities that are allowed to print money as if there is no tomorrow. It is because of this unlimited capacity to print money, central banks are called ‘banks of last resort.’ During the whole of the last century, besides the central banking system, the moneyed men also set up institutions to hoodwink the gullible sheeple into thinking that all is well. Amongst these, we can mention the paid media (both private & state), higher education/think tanks, institutions of global economic governance (IMF, etc.) etc., etc. Higher education, particularly in banking/finance/economics have been actively propagating and propagandizing modern finance’s undeserving status throughout the world. Bankers have even managed to concoct a ‘Nobel Prize’ in economics’, which was not stipulated by the original founder Alfred Noble. ‘Nobel Prize’ in economics is the creation of the Bank of Sweden in 1968 and was made to coincide with the awarding of the real Nobel Prize, so that it looks prestigious. What bankers do to deceive!

In an interesting turn of events, the ruling party in Iceland tabled a bill in parliament to abolish ‘fractional reserve banking’, at least as practiced by private banks. The proposal is to make the act of creating money a government monopoly, initially under the central bank but ultimately under the parliament. Such a scheme is what we have been proposing ever since we started scribbling on this page. Our motto still remains the same; ‘to help (in whatever little capacity we have) make our world a fair and peaceful one.’ This might not be palatable to many who continue to benefit from the lopsided nature of our world, but that, at least, is where we stand. We believe ‘fractional reserve banking’ by private entities must be abolished, because, money is a public common and it should remain under the custody of the public (to be administered by people’s government.) In fact this is the old idea of the Chicago School, proposed by Irving Fisher, et al, way back in the 1930s. (Irving fisher was one of the most prominent economists of the 20th century.) One can fairly argue about the efficacy, fairness, etc., of the distribution of credit, under the strict jurisdiction of the state, but that is essentially a second-phase problem, which can be addressed via various checks and balances, so long as genuine democracy prevails. The most important thing in all these is; the state must be committed to the long-term welfare of the populous. Therefore, such schemes probably will not work in places where plutocracies (with their embedded ‘deep state’) obtain.

Name: Mihretu Gobena

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Education: Second year dropout

Company Name: Mighty Farm

Title: CEO

Founded in: 2023

What it does: Rabbit farming

Head quarter: Sebeta

Start Up Capital: 50,000 birr

Current Capital: 350,000 birr

Number of the Employees: 7

Reason for Starting the business: To have my own income

Biggest perk of ownership:  I manage myself properly

Biggest Strength: Not giving up and faith on god

Biggest Challenge: Getting finance

Plan: To have a herd size of 6 million rabbits

First Career: Auditor

Most interested in meeting:  Haile Gebresselasie

Most admired person: Comedian Eshetu

Stress Reducer: Listening to spiritual songs

Favorite book: The power of now

Favorite past time:

Favorite destination: Israel and the Netherlands

Favorite automobile: Nissan Patrol 2023

Lion Insurance: Strong financial performance and capital growth

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Lion Insurance continues to exhibit impressive financial indicators, reflecting its robust position in the industry. With a paid-up capital of Birr 244,071,787.71 and total assets amounting to Birr 1.7 billion, the company showcases its financial stability and capability to meet obligations effectively. Additionally, the total equity stands at Birr 114,630,000.00, demonstrating a solid foundation for sustained growth.

In terms of general insurance, Lion Insurance has achieved a remarkable Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ETB 857,359,248.29 as of June 2023. This figure highlights the company’s strong market presence and customer trust in its offerings. Furthermore, the company has generated a gross profit of Birr 75.6 million during the same period, indicating its ability to effectively manage operations and drive profitability.

Notably, Lion Insurance has successfully reached a subscribed capital of Birr 300 million, showcasing the confidence of investors in its long-term growth prospects. This achievement further strengthens the company’s financial position and enables it to pursue strategic initiatives and expand its portfolio of services.

Through its sound financial performance and consistent capital growth, Lion Insurance demonstrates its commitment to delivering value to stakeholders while maintaining a strong foothold in the insurance industry.

Abreham Mersha is CEO of Lion Insurance. He started his career in Insurance as the 4th pre-service trainee with Ethiopian Insurance Corporation in 1989. With over 30 years of experience in the industry he worked in different insurance firms. He talked to Capital about his company’s future plan. Excerpts; 

Capital: How has Lion Insurance adapted to the changing landscape of the insurance industry in recent years?

Abreham Mersha: The insurance industry has undergone significant transformations globally due to digitalization and technological advancements. Lion Insurance recognizes this trend and understands that our market in Ethiopia will also experience a shift towards online insurance purchases, customized policies, and increased demand for enhanced services. We have already taken steps to support our operations with a Core Insurance system for policy processing and a portal for claim management. However, we acknowledge the need to further modernize and meet the evolving needs of the insurance industry.

Capital: What differentiates Lion Insurance from its competitors in terms of products and services?

Abreham Mersha: While most insurance companies in the industry offer standardized products, with little innovation or differentiation, Lion Insurance stands out in terms of its range of products and services. As a composite insurer, we provide both life and general insurance policies. Our emphasis on fast and efficient service, supported by IT systems, sets us apart. Customers can easily notify and track their claims through our online portal. We also have decentralized claim settlement services and use our own towing cranes to expedite the process. We prioritize customer satisfaction by recognizing the importance of timely responses and efficient claim settlements.

Capital: How does Lion Insurance prioritize customer satisfaction and ensure a positive customer experience?

Abreham Mersha: As a service-oriented industry, customer satisfaction is paramount for us. We have embedded a customer-centric approach in our business to provide a positive experience and foster long-term relationships. We value our customers by listening to their needs and accommodating their requests as much as possible. We provide honest and accurate information, honor our promises, and ensure timely claim payments. We actively seek customer feedback and conduct consultative meetings to strengthen our partnership. Additionally, we have implemented a customer recognition and loyalty program.

Capital: How does Lion Insurance incorporate technology and innovation into its operations and offerings?

Abreham Mersha: Lion Insurance is fully automated in its operations. We utilize IT systems to support underwriting and claims services, issuing system-generated policies and facilitating renewal reminders. Our online portal enables customers to lodge claims and track their status. We also have plans to launch online insurance services in the near future, further embracing technology and innovation.

Capital: How has Lion Insurance embraced sustainability and corporate social responsibility?

Abreham Mersha: Lion Insurance is committed to conducting business with integrity and professionalism. We prioritize the sustainability of our growth and profitability to benefit all stakeholders. In addition to supporting the national economy through insurance operations and diversified portfolio investments, we contribute to sustainability and corporate social responsibility by purchasing government bonds and making financial contributions to national projects and humanitarian activities when needed.

Capital: What measures does Lion Insurance take to manage risks and ensure financial stability?

Abreham Mersha: We have implemented a robust risk management practice in compliance with regulatory requirements. This includes defining potential risk exposures, setting risk appetite and tolerance limits, and regularly assessing risk factors. We stay updated on legal and regulatory developments and provide risk management advice and training to corporate customers. Prudent underwriting and claims management practices, along with sufficient reinsurance cover, are also key aspects of our risk management approach. We carefully manage our financial resources and investment portfolio to reduce concentration risk and monitor our operational and financial performance through monthly financial reports.

We conduct impact assessment and evaluation on new legal and regulatory developments to mitigate the possible impact on our operational and financial position. We provide risk management advice & trainings to our corporate customers. Exercising prudent underwriting and claims management practices and arrangement of sufficient reinsurance cover in support of our operation are also among the major risk management activities we use to ensure financial stability of our company. 

We make cash flow forecast and manage our financial resources and investment portfolio in a manner that reduces concentration risk. On top of these we prepare interim financial report on a monthly basis to monitor the company’s operational & financial performance on an ongoing basis. I think this is also one differentiation point.

Capital: Can you provide an overview of Lion Insurance’s growth strategy and expansion plans?

Abreham Mersha: Our vision is to become one of the leading private insurers in Ethiopia by 2031. Our growth strategy includes increasing our Gross Written Premium Income (GWPI) and market share through product diversification and branch expansion. We aim to increase capital and expand our range of equity investments. We have already started offering life insurance and are working towards introducing an alternative insurance solution called Takaful. Additionally, we are focused on developing new products for the low-income segment to support financial inclusion.

The fact that Lion Insurance started life business is one achievement registered in line with the company’s growth strategy. Besides, currently we are working to start an alternative insurance solution called Takaful. Furthermore, focus shall be given to engage on the development of other new products for low income society in support of the financial inclusion.

Capital: How does Lion Insurance nurture and develop its talent pool and approach employee engagement and satisfaction?

Abreham Mersha: We believe that it is our responsibility as leaders to ensure employee engagement and satisfaction. We create an empowering and motivating environment where employees are encouraged to grow. We provide training opportunities for their professional development, both locally and internationally. We recognize and reward our employees based on their performance, offering accelerated growth opportunities. We have also established a succession plan to ensure sustainability.

Capital: In your opinion, what are the major challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry today, and how is Lion Insurance positioned to address them?

Abreham Mersha: The current operating environment presents more challenges than opportunities. Geopolitical unpredictability, climate change, economic conditions, stringent reinsurance requirements, and a shortage of skilled manpower are among the challenges we face. However, there are also untapped market potentials, the need for alternative insurance solutions, technological advancements, and the establishment of the Capital Market, which present opportunities. Lion Insurance is continuously strengthening its professional, financial, and technological capabilities to navigate these challenges and seize the opportunities that arise.

On the other hand; existence of untapped market potential coupled with the need for alternative insurance solutions such as Takaful, expansion of the Finance sector, Potential of the industry zone to attract foreign direct investment, Technological advancement and the coming into picture of Fintech companies and payment systems, establishment of the Capital Market, existence of one National Reinsurance Company & two local representative offices of foreign reinsurers, and focus for financial inclusion are opportunities for the insurance industry.

Cognizant of the fact that only those better prepared can afford to overcome the challenges and grab opportunities; we are working on continuously strengthening our Professional, financial and technological capabilities to remain relevant in the dynamic business environment.

China’s Money Supply and American Silver In The Early Globalization

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Alazar Kebede

Since Elcano completed the first circumnavigation of the globe, initiated by Magellan in 1519, an insoluble problem had confronted the Spanish crown. Even though the Pacific Ocean was navigable towards the west, there was no apparent way back towards the east. For three decades, the Spanish Monarchy launched expedition after expedition to find a practical way to get from America to the Philippines and back to no avail until a remarkable character entered the story.

According to Spanish history, Andres de Urdaneta is not a celebrated figure. Nevertheless, in the hidden history of globalization, he is one of its most prominent heroes. A cosmographer and navigator with unparalleled experience on the Pacific routes, he had given up mundane glory to become a reclusive monk in Mexico. Only under the stubborn insistence of King Phillip II, who desired a seaway between New Spain and Asia that would elude the Portuguese, did Urdaneta reluctantly abandon the monastery to take to the seas for the last time.

According to Luis Francisco Martinez Montes, a Spanish Diplomat, it was a momentous decision. Starting his trip in 1565 from the Philippines, Urdaneta defied conventional wisdom from the beginning. Instead of sailing across the trodden path, he decided to head north towards Japan. He then proceeded east towards California and Acapulco. Four months later he had completed the first round trip between the Philippines and America. More of a mystic than a man of the world, he had opened the first systematic transoceanic route in human history.

Shortly after the discovery of the “tornaviaje”, Phillip II gave instructions to establish a permanent bi-oceanic route between Seville and the Philippines via New Spain. This was accomplished via Mexico City, and through to Manila, where the exchange of silver for silk, porcelain and other oriental, mainly Chinese luxuries took place. Finally, the galleons would return across the Pacific following Urdaneta’s route.

Apart from constituting the longest maritime trading enterprise known in pre-industrial times, the Manila Galleon was also the most long living. It operated for more than two and a half centuries, from 1565 to 1815. This resilience was due to two basic facts. First, it was profitable for all sides involved. Second, despite frequent wreckages provoked by rough seas and unchartered coasts, it was quite secure by the standards of the times.

Luis Francisco Martinez Montes stated that contrary to the alleged success of the English and Dutch sea-dogs in plundering the Spanish fleets, the historic truth is that throughout the 250 years of its existence, only four Manila Galleons were captured by the enemy. The first was the “Santa Ana” in 1587 and the last was the “Santisima Trinidad” in 1762. He further noted that this is a very meagre rate of capture by any measure. Actually, as those figures show, the alleged domination of the oceans by the omnipotent British Royal Navy remained nothing more than a well publicized myth until the 19th century.

The galleons were formidable ships, sometimes reaching over 1,500 tones of cargo capacity. The size, frequency and overall reliability of the Manila Galleon explain why in the 17th century, when Spain was already supposed to be in irremediable decline, the Hispanic world exchanged with China more silver than the combined trade conducted by the British, the Dutch and the Portuguese.

The economic success of the Manila Galleon can also be analyzed in terms of orthodox economic theory. Spanish settlers in New Spain were complaining about the cost of silk products manufactured in America. Giacomo Mendes Garcia, a Spanish historian, stated that since the Leyes de Indias forbade the enslavement of native Indians, they had to provide them with a salary. Minimum as this remuneration might be, it was enough to make silk production in America uncompetitive.

So, contrary to received wisdom, the moral qualms of the Spanish Monarchy over the treatment of the Indians were one of the factors behind the Trans-Pacific trade. Since Chinese silk was cheaper, it made sense to buy it in exchange for lower-cost American products. American silver was available in more than sufficient quantities, so the terms of the trade were clear from the beginning. The Manila Galleon did all the rest.

Giacomo Mendes Garcia noted that, for the Chinese, the Manila Galleon presented two obvious advantages. First, it provided a regular channel, financed and defended by foreigners, through which it could export part of its excess production to a wider market without incurring the cost of running an overseas empire.

Second, the Galleon was a source of much needed money in times of financial distress. The Spanish-American silver was so much in demand that even after Spain had lost control of America in the 19th century, Spanish colonial dollars were widely used among merchant communities in coastal China. Luis Francisco Martínez Montes stated that Pillar dollars with the effigy of Charles IV, of Goya fame, were called the “fatty Budas”.

For the Hispanic Empire, the Chinese way represented the main way to turn a profit from the Philippines, thus helping to secure a permanent presence for Spain in Asia. The trade route was also vital for lubricating the commercial wheels of the vibrant vice Royalty of New Spain, as Mexico was then known. Many trading communities there were dependent on the timely arrival of the Manila ships with their cargo.

Furthermore, like the German traveler Alexander von Humboldt witnessed in his travels through Spanish America around 1803, Far Eastern spices and textiles became part of Indian and mestizo populations’ daily life thus contributing to a quintessentially Hispanic mixing of habits and customs. According to Luis Francisco Martínez Montes, more luxurious goods were purchased by the Spanish American elite, or found their way to Spanish and European markets via Seville.

For the global economy, the unsung Manila Galleons were the link between two of the largest geopolitical entities until the beginning of the 19th century: the Chinese Empire and the Hispanic Monarchy. Thanks to their respective roles, it was possible to create and sustain the first global economic network encompassing more or less the same actors, the Americas, Asia and Europe, that constitute the three main pillars of the current wave of globalization.