Find the Middle Ground

Withdrawing overdraft facilities, calling in old debts aggressively and in some cases simply ceasing trading with SME's that they see as a risk, has led to a torrent of criticism and abuse from the Chancellor through to the ever growing number of celebrity economists who are pimping themselves around the television news stations these days.
But, what are the banks to do? On the one hand, they have been pummelled for not being risk averse enough. On the other, we want them to carry on regardless.
It is a tough position for them to be in, be it of their own making or not.
Surely, we cannot expect the banks to be insulated from the adaptation and change that the rest of us are having to go through. Would it not be plain daft for our financial institutions to continue to operate and offer lending criteria and facilities that have led to the global economic crisis in the first place?
I think part of the problem is the way the banks are introducing change, rather than what they are changing.
Informing long standing customers that their business is no longer wanted via a curtly worded letter is hardly going to win banks any plaudits. Nor is hiking interest rates on overdraft facilities that can often make a going concern suddenly become a concern that is going.
Banks may need to be more cautious than they have been during the past decade, but if there is not an element of entrepreneurial culture within our financial institutions, then it is difficult to see how business can flourish.
For banks it is about getting the balance right. At the moment, understandably in my opinion, they have gone from one extreme to the other. A middle ground must be found, and found quickly, if the banks are not to be blamed for not only giving birth to the credit crunch, but prolonging its life beyond what is necessary.