In 2017 I wrote an Author Review for Arthur Hailey… and a few weeks back found that The Money Changers, another classic by Arthur Hailey was on Kindle Unlimited. It didn’t take me long to download it and to start reading it.
I have read all of Arthur Hailey’s books, but it has been a while so I don’t remember all the stories. It all came back when Roscoe Heyward goes to the SuNatCo party in Bahamas where he meets Avril. I knew what happened finally but still read every word to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
The Money Changers – Summary
Essentially it’s the story about the banking industry in the 70’s using First Mercantile American bank as the backdrop. There are two rivals, Alex Vandervoort and Roscoe Heyward. Both are hardworking, knowledgeable and ambitious. Both hope to be in the top spot when they hear Ben Rosselli, the founder’s grandson is dying from cancer.
Alex is shown as the more popular leader while Roscoe the more ambitious and old style kind of leader. While Alex has marital issues, Roscoe has money issues. How both play out in the end is interesting. Alex is also shown as being more cautious, while Roscoe lets his ambition run amok and allows himself to rationalise some risky decisions.
We get glimpses into how a bank functions when Miles Eastin steals money from the teller Juanita Nunez and finally when he is caught. It’s a huge shock to Edwina, the downtown branch manager. This incident highlights the problems with gambling and loan sharks. Miles’ life in prison brings tears into one’s eyes because just a momentary lapse in judgement brings a promising career down.
That incident, the run on a rural branch of FMA and then finally Roscoe’s misjudgement of the SuNatCo business in a rush to succeed Ben Rosselli makes this book a tad bit sad and really close to reality.
Credit Cards and ATMs
We see the introduction of credit cards and the ATMs in this book …. just imagine the world without either. Its difficult, right ?
Just posting a short excerpt regarding credit cards –
“….doing it the credit card way was much cheaper for a bank; also, a small loan customer, borrowing through the credit-card route, paid substantially higher interest than on a conventional loan. The total interest the bank received, in fact, was often as high as twenty four percent since merchants who honored credit cards paid their own additional bank levy, ranging from two to six percent. …”
Remember those days when merchant establishments in India would charge you 2% if you used credit cards to make a large purchase?
We have come a long way from those days, but credit cards make money for the issuing banks, IF you just pay the minimum due (5% of total purchase amount) and carry forward the balance. The interest rates on the carried forward balance are crazy high … 29% to 40% per annum. BLOT – pay your credit card bills in full every month.
Young Americans should be reading this book to understand how detrimental debt is …. Krishnan and I would watch Suzy Orman’s show and the number of questions regarding credit card debt were staggering. It’s sad that young Americans don’t learn about credit card debt at all.
ATMs have become a convenience that we cannot do without. Again, it’s important to be careful while using the ATMs as theft is very common. I can never forget our guide Roger’s advise in Johannesburg – he said, take the money dispensed by the ATM, put it inside your purse and just come out of the ATM, don’t stand around trying to count the money :).
This book also talks of the history of money (a hobby of Miles Eastin). It has doomsday predictions for the American dollar which might be coming true nearly 50 years later. Also about how currency will once again be backed by Gold. The love for the yellow metal isn’t reducing anytime soon I guess.
Do read the book … it’s well researched and tells a good story. It also helps you understand how far the US has come or fallen depending on where you stand. Importantly it re-emphasises certain good money practises, both for the individual and the banking industry.
My Rating – 5/5
Nice mam
Seems I read one of those books long ago but don’t remember for sure. Many other, similar books about the banking industry have come out since then. My “go to” book for banking history is “The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve” by G. Edward Griffin, in its 17th printing when I bought my second copy in about 2017.
I am wary about banks generally, because I’ve been robbed or pickpocketed so many times. I have lost credit cards, ATMs, my passport, and drivers license more than once. Lately I don’t travel at all, except to the grocery store, and I always use cash.
I hear you Katharine. In India, we have private banks but the largest banks are government owned. The thing that worries me about Indian youth is the credit card usage. A credit card makes you spend more than you “should” or “would”. That’s a recipe for disaster right there.
As a community we are a high-savings community but that is changing. I save less than what my parents did and my nephews and nieces save lesser than I do. .. that is the worrying trend.
Maybe, but I don’t try to save much. I did get out of debt, though, and stay out. But I’m old, without heirs. It might be different if I were younger and thinking about leaving an inheritance. Mostly, I want to get rid of clutter and junk so others won’t have to do it. Making decisions is the hardest part.
The most important thing you did was get out of debt. The opposite is happening around the world and specifically in India.
Krishnan and I are also on the de-cluttering road. It’s important to leave no clutter behind. Agree with you totally. We also have no inheritance to worry about as we decided not to have children.
I think age and the stage of life help set priorities. World wide, the temptation to spend more than you earn attracts the gullible; and youth tend to believe they have time to pay off debts, but it doesn’t always work that way. When I was making lots of money, I bought things that I never used, or things that broke and needed to be disposed of. Now I’m a very cautious shopper and don’t buy what I don’t really need.
I do agree about credit card usage. That is a trap.