The decline of banks Silicon Valley Bank, Republic Bank, Deutsche Bank or Credit Suisse has questioned the policy of central banks based on rising interest rates. No surprises, because the objective of the banks was to “cool the economy”, that is, to provoke a crisis. Indeed, the fall of these commercial banks has been the first direct consequence of these policies. It is a measured meltdown, but in capitalism control has no place, and there is still much to see how far this banking crisis can go. Apart from this crisis, however, it has become clear that, despite the fact that interest rates have been zero for ten years, the international production system is in an absolutely precarious situation. Credit dependent productive system that cannot survive without credit, zombie production system.

Companies that cannot get enough returns to pay interest on their loans are called business zombies. This impossibility forces us to indebtedness in a vicious and endless cycle. By raising interest rates, companies can contract less and will try to use their money in banks (which has happened in Silicon Valley). But they will soon rise.

To emerge from the 2008 crisis, the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank reduced interest rates to zero. However, the economy has not improved, it has survived artificially and there are more and more zombies. Not only in Silicon Valley, but also in Euskal Herria. In 2018, 10.16% of Navarre and Basque companies were zombies, compared to 25.11%. The increase has been widespread, from 12.26% in the primary sector to 26.21%, 9.74% in industry and construction, 26.43% and 10.28% in services to 24.65%. The viability of these companies is influenced by the debt capacity, which is becoming increasingly reduced. Consequently, the jobs of 197,938 workers who work in it are at risk, one in five workers from Hego Euskal Herria.

And what is the solution? Large interest rates bring a crisis, but zero seems to have achieved nothing. The main problem has been the allocation to the private financial sector of the competence to decide which activities and companies should be financed, rather than developing a public bank. It will not solve everything, but a public bank can guide the investment, and thus direct the productive system, not for the benefit of the rich and speculators, but of the staff. Despite their interest in commercial banks, such as weapons for NATO, we must stop financing activities that are not essential and devote these resources to necessary and strategic activities for the country, whether profitable or not.