NBK hosts Former U.S President William Jefferson Clinton
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) the leading bank in the Middle East and highest rated bank in the Emerging Markets, hosted former U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton on Sunday Nov 16. The event was held at the Sheraton Hotel to a packed audience and was attended by various dignitaries, ambassadors and senior officials.
Clinton who was speaking at the 56th NBK International Symposium shared his insights on the world economy and other political factors affecting the region.
The evening began with opening remarks by NBK Group CEO Ibrahim Dabdoub.
“This year’s event comes against a background of severe turbulence in the world economy, a major reversal from the buoyant economic conditions witnessed in previous years. Falling asset prices, huge disruptions in global credit markets and liquidity problems in the banking sector are all coming together to make for a once in a generation crisis in the global financial sector that has pushed the global economy into a recession” , Dabdoub said.
Commenting on the conditions in the gulf region, Dabdoub said, “We have enjoyed several years of optimism and rising prosperity, driven by a surge in crude oil prices. Although regional governments have saved a large proportion of the oil windfall, they have also ensured that the benefits of this windfall flow through to the citizens of their countries.”
“Our culture of prudence and discipline in managing risks and balancing it against sustainable growth which have gained us a solid financial standing and the highest credit ratings in all emerging markets make us confident in our future,” he added.
President Clinton began his address by talking about the financial crisis of the 21st century and it how has shown its interdependence on world economies.
He said he was very happy that G8 nations met to find solutions to the crisis. He said that the upcoming lame duck session “We will try to provide a stimulus package to enhance investor confidence.”
He then spoke about how the crises have impacted the U.S. economy, stressing that the biggest concern now is deflation.
President Clinton explained that even though the financial system had some problems, and that the economics were not perfect, the psychological aspect of this crisis is very powerful. “This financial crisis is an economic problem but is largely a matter of people losing confidence in all investments and this needs to be addressed”.
President Clinton set out his recommendations on what President-elect Barrack Obama should do to help with the financial crisis:- Continue to pump liquidity until confidence comes back.
President Clinton's also said that the US government should pass a stimulus program coupled with the following three most important steps:
1- Keep people's homes as 1.5 million homes were lost last year, and 2 million this year.
2- Helping the Auto industry because if GM goes out of business, this means a couple of million jobs lost will be lost through different channels.
3- Direct stimulus program through infrastructure investment.
He went further to warn that stopping big projects until the economy bounces back would be a big mistake.
President Clinton also said that price of oil should ideally be between $80-$100 but the negative psychology world over has affected the prices to come below $60.
A question answer session followed after President Clinton’s address. Asked if he saw a unipolar, bipolar or a multipolar world, President Clinton cited examples of history and said no one nation can carry on as the sole economic and political and military superpower in the world forever.
Asked if he saw his wife Hillary Clinton as the next U.S. Secretary of State, he said she will be a "great secretary of state" if president-elect Barack Obama named her to the post.
"If he (Obama) decided to ask her and they did it together, I think she'll be really great as a secretary of state, “She worked very hard for his election after the primary fight with him, and so did I, and we were very glad that he won and we have a lot of confidence that he can do a good job. But she didn't do what she did with the hope or expectation of getting any kind of job offer, much less having this discussed," he said.
The evening concluded with a reception dinner.
