A SENIOR director of Lloyds TSB has addressed an Isle of Man breakfast briefing, hosted by the bank’s local subsidiary.

John Ramage , Director of Liquidity and FX Solutions, provided a fascinating presentation summarising the state of the financial marketplace in the context of the EU crisis, and how the cost of borrowing is determined in today’s volatile market.

This is the second such event hosted locally at which John has spoken.  He began by saying, “I was here last year, when I was described as a ‘Harbinger of Doom’.  I prefer ‘Prophet of the Future’, but there you go”.

This comment set the tone for the presentation, in which he outlined an understandably bleak picture of the state of European economies.  Making the EU crisis directly relevant to the audience, he walked through how it was likely to affect British and European interest rates in the near future, as well as how Credit Default Swaps (CDS) combines with interest rates to determine the cost of borrowing. 

However, he did offer a silver lining in the form of explaining mid-market deposits and how they can offer significant advantages in the current climate.  John ended the presentation with a quick explanation of Lloyds TSB’s  95 Day Notice Deposit Account and Partial Withdrawal Fixed Term Deposit, both of which are designed to offer flexibility and protection from variations in interest rates, which were a key part of his financial forecast.  

The event was one of Lloyds TSB’s regular breakfast briefings, which offer timely updates on matters of interest to the Manx business community.  Guests enjoyed a complimentary breakfast at The Claremont Hotel, with the presentation ending in time for attendees to get to work on time.  John also took a number of questions from the audience, who responded very positively to his presentation.

Trevor Kirk, Senior Manager of Corporate Banking at Lloyds TSB Isle of Man, said, “John is always a pleasure to listen to, as he approaches complex issues with humour, style and great insight, so I am particularly pleased to have been able to bring him back a year after his first visit.

“He was very well received and I would like to thank both John and everyone who attended for helping to make it a fun and informative event.”