--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Banks operate like a man who either wears…" description: "\"Banks operate like a man who either wears his trousers round his chest, stifling breathing, as now, or round his ankles, exposing his assets. We want t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/vince-cable-10688_ankles_banks-operate-like-a-man-who-either-wear_456585.jpg" --- # Banks operate like a man who either wears his trousers… ![“Banks operate like a man who either wears his trousers round his chest, stifling breathing, as now, or round his ankles, exposing his assets. We want their trousers tied round their middle: steady lending growth; particularly to productive British business, especially small scale enterprise.” quote by Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/vince-cable-10688_ankles_banks-operate-like-a-man-who-either-wear_456585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/vince-cable-10688_ankles_banks-operate-like-a-man-who-either-wear_456585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/vince-cable-10688_ankles_banks-operate-like-a-man-who-either-wear_456585.jpg) > “Banks operate like a man who either wears his trousers round his chest, stifling breathing, as now, or round his ankles, exposing his assets. We want their trousers tied round their middle: steady lending growth; particularly to productive British business, especially small scale enterprise.” [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Banks are constrained by overly restrictive regulations that limit their ability to lend, especially to small businesses. **In simple terms:** Regulations choke banks, hurting small business lending. Key Takeaway Relax rules to boost lending to SMEs. Themes finance regulation small business economic growth Mood cautious optimistic Type policy economic When to use this quote - small business financing - policy reform - economic development - financial stability Key Concepts banking policy credit availability regulatory impact Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance regulation and lending? - What safeguards are needed for SMEs? A Different Perspective Too much deregulation could increase risk and instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banks/) [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enterprise/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Investment banking has, in recent years, resembled a casino, and the massive scale of gambling losses has dragged down traditional activities as banks try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/investment-banking-has-in-recent-years-resembled-a-casino-and-the-2/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Investment banking has, in recent years, resembled a casino, and the massive scale of gambling losses has dragged down traditional business and retail lending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/investment-banking-has-in-recent-years-resembled-a-casino-and-the/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [We need a new British business bank with a clean balance sheet and an ability to expand lending rapidly to the manufacturers, exporters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/we-need-a-new-british-business-bank-with-a-clean-balance-sheet-and-an/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Small- and medium-sized businesses need access to a diverse range of finance options, including non-bank lending. These new forms of finance are still small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/small-and-medium-sized-businesses-need-access-to-a-diverse-range-of/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Teach me, 0 God, not to torture myself, not to make a martyr out of myself through stifling reflection, but rather teach me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/teach-me-0-god-not-to-torture-myself-not-to-make-a-martyr-out-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [D.H. Lawrence had the impression – that psychoanalysis was shutting sexuality up in a bizarre sort of box painted with bourgeois motifs, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/d-h-lawrence-had-the-impression-that-psychoanalysis-was-shutting/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [Jealously was an unjust and stifling thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/jealously-was-an-unjust-and-stifling-thing/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [Rousseau and his disciples were resolved to force men to be free; in most of the world, they triumphed; men are set free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/rousseau-and-his-disciples-were-resolved-to-force-men-to-be-free-in/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [I had no intention of being an actor in the first place. But it all started when I was 20, and by the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvind-swami/i-had-no-intention-of-being-an-actor-in-the-first-place-but-it-all/) [Arvind Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvind-swami/) > [Every time you have a new tax, or every time you have to pay really an inordinate amount for a regulation, it's really stifling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-raese/every-time-you-have-a-new-tax-or-every-time-you-have-to-pay-really-an/) [John Raese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-raese/) > [“The poor are used to stifling any expression of their despair, because they must get on with life, with work, with the demands made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-simenon/the-poor-are-used-to-stifling-any-expression-of-their-despair-because/) [Georges Simenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-simenon/) > [When under the influence of certain (or some) reasons (or causes) (alcohol, war, etc - added Spir here) the low instincts are unbridled (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/when-under-the-influence-of-certain-or-some-reasons-or-causes-alcohol/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Science is the only truth and it is the great lie. It knows nothing, and people think it knows everything. It is misrepresented. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) ## More by Vince Cable > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Our workforce is very co-operative, very flexible, easy to work with and one of the big selling points. The idea that Britain is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/our-workforce-is-very-co-operative-very-flexible-easy-to-work-with/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [The degree of leverage now being reversed is staggering, and the underlying global imbalances - notably between the savers and the spenders - will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-degree-of-leverage-now-being-reversed-is-staggering-and-the/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Fundamental renegotiation is very, very unlikely to produce any significant change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/fundamental-renegotiation-is-very-very-unlikely-to-produce-any/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [The real problem at the moment is that the banks - because of their existing culture, which is frankly anti-business, obsession with short-term trading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-real-problem-at-the-moment-is-that-the-banks-because-of-their/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [When I was a child we were sufficiently well off for me to be a picky eater and I still cannot eat vegetables cooked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/when-i-was-a-child-we-were-sufficiently-well-off-for-me-to-be-a-picky/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Quite apart from the problem of the vote, it's bad for the image of Parliament that people take the trouble to come up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/quite-apart-from-the-problem-of-the-vote-it-s-bad-for-the-image-of/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [I've always been comfortable working with women and I've had two happy marriages. Draw what conclusions you like from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/i-ve-always-been-comfortable-working-with-women-and-i-ve-had-two/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [My college, Fitzwilliam, was pretty good but unfashionable and I lived in digs so I was not part of the cloistered 'old college' environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/my-college-fitzwilliam-was-pretty-good-but-unfashionable-and-i-lived/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [The Robert Mugabe school of economics provides a salutary warning about uncontrolled monetary expansion in generating hyper-inflation. The road to Harare is not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-robert-mugabe-school-of-economics-provides-a-salutary-warning/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Much of the shadow banking sector, a major contributor to the economic crisis, was also only possible because of taxhaven secrecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/much-of-the-shadow-banking-sector-a-major-contributor-to-the-economic/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [My late wife Olympia was Goan and I've been to India many times. I love the food there. We used to do our shopping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/my-late-wife-olympia-was-goan-and-i-ve-been-to-india-many-times-i/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [Well, as I said, you know the issue of Greek debt, they've grasped the principle of debt reduction. I think most people would argue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/well-as-i-said-you-know-the-issue-of-greek-debt-they-ve-grasped-the/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [There was, of course, a global financial crisis. But our Labour predecessors left Britain exceptionally vulnerable and damaged: more personal debt than any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/there-was-of-course-a-global-financial-crisis-but-our-labour/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [The economy has become seriously unbalanced. Its growth has not been driven by investment or by overcoming Britain's long-standing weaknesses in investment and productivity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-economy-has-become-seriously-unbalanced-its-growth-has-not-been/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) [Explore all 64 Vince Cable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) ## More Ankles quotes > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-pretty-cautious-and-not-very-athletic-so-i-ve-only-had-really/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [I've broken all my fingers, I've broken my hand, ribs, ankles... everything, I've broken everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sky-blu/i-ve-broken-all-my-fingers-i-ve-broken-my-hand-ribs-ankles-everything/) [Sky Blu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sky-blu/) > [Never walk near the bed; to a ghost your ankle is your most vulnerable part-once in bed, you're safe; he may lie around under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/never-walk-near-the-bed-to-a-ghost-your-ankle-is-your-most-vulnerable/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [You may feel a tugging sensation near your ankles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/you-may-feel-a-tugging-sensation-near-your-ankles/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Rock stars are like sports stars: If you snap your ankle, you're done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/rock-stars-are-like-sports-stars-if-you-snap-your-ankle-you-re-done/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [A tall blonde entered the room, wearing a yellow sash that marked her as advocate. Two men followed her, carrying papers. She was lean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/a-tall-blonde-entered-the-room-wearing-a-yellow-sash-that-marked-her/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [We're told cars cause pollution. A hundred years ago city streets were ankle deep in horse excrement. What kind of pollution do you want?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/we-re-told-cars-cause-pollution-a-hundred-years-ago-city-streets-were/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In the past five weeks I've trained hard, trying to get my ankle back to where I want it to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-flintoff/in-the-past-five-weeks-i-ve-trained-hard-trying-to-get-my-ankle-back/) [Andrew Flintoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-flintoff/) > [It isn't a coincidence that governments everywhere want to educate children. Government education, in turn, is supposed to be evidence of the state's goodness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/it-isn-t-a-coincidence-that-governments-everywhere-want-to-educate/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [I have kind of loose ankles a little bit, and sometimes that's not always good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/i-have-kind-of-loose-ankles-a-little-bit-and-sometimes-that-s-not/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [Doctor." Gideon set one ankle on the opposite knee and settled back, creating a picture of unyielding decisiveness. "The only way I'm keeping my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/doctor-gideon-set-one-ankle-on-the-opposite-knee-and-settled-back/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [Why do guys insist on wearing those odious jeans with their rear ends hanging down around their ankles? Do they really think it's hot?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-kluger/why-do-guys-insist-on-wearing-those-odious-jeans-with-their-rear-ends/) [Steve Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-kluger/) > [Dancers, you know, they have pain everywhere: ankles in the morning, or back or neck or ribs or knees or the muscles. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/dancers-you-know-they-have-pain-everywhere-ankles-in-the-morning-or/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) Browse all 239 Ankles quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Banks operate like a man who either wears his trousers round his chest, stifling breathing, as now, or round his ankles, exposing his assets. 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