Investment Banking for Idiots

There are 5 professions in Iceland (a land of 300,000 people and 9 family names): fisherman, aluminum smelter, civil servant, elf finder (no kidding) and until recently: financial services professional. The transition from fisherman to investment banker (via elf finding) it seems was EZ in the Iceland of 2003. The thing is, it is far easier to teach fishermen to trade currencies than it is to teach finance geeks to fish, according to people "in the know" in Reykjavík. So, in an Icelandic twist on an old aphorism, "Teach a man to fish, and he becomes an investment banker; give a man a fish and, well.............whatever."

Icelandic Banks

"You have a dog, and I have a cat. We agree that they are each worth $1 billion. You sell me the dog for $1 billion and I sell you the cat for $1 billion. Now we are no longer pet owners, but Icelandic banks with $1 billion (each) in new assets." Michael Lewis, "Wall Street on the Tundra", Vanity Fair, April 2009