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Economy 4.0

On the Air: Why a New Jersey cabinetmaker cares about international banking rules

David Brancaccio Sep 29, 2010

We are starting off Economy 4.0 with a Marketplace Morning Report story about an effort to reengineer bank rules around the world. There is kind of a club of central banks headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. This Bank of International Settlements is coordinating the changes. Marketplace morning host Bill Radke asks the question any sane person would ask: Is this boring? I beg to differ with him! What we will not discuss on the air is my finding that the BIS in Basel seems to favor modern architecture of a certain style. Do all their buildings look like rooks off a chessboard? Check Wikipedia and see.

On Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal our story is about bringing these obscure Basel rules down to earth. The rules will affect real people, especially real people who apply for loans at the bank, which is most of us. We get help on the story from an insightful small businessman from New Jersey. Kelly Conklin runs a small but high-end cabinetmaking company. He feels his long, distinguished track record keeping his business afloat through thick and thin does not count during this era where credit is relatively tight. He feels his bank is giving him the cold-shoulder and he is concerned new international banking rules could make this worse.

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