A Lehman Moment

This opinion piece discusses a “Lehman Moment”  in relation to Deutsche Bank.  A “Lehman Moment” is a time when the entire credit system seizes and participants stop making loans because of uncertain counterparty risks.  It is what happened when Lehman failed in 2008.  It switched the system from trust to panic and was a singular moment when the core principal of banking was exposed — trust.  One has to have a reputation of trustworthiness to participate in global banking. Lehman had it and lost it. Deutsche Bank is teetering and the banks of Europe are fragile.  Trust and reputation are at the core of public relations.  PR seeks to protect both by telling the positive story of institutions and individuals. It isn’t “spin,” although some would call it that.  It seeks to marshal facts that support the claims one makes for oneself.  The best PR is truth presented persuasively to build trust and reputation. There is fact-bending among unscrupulous PR practitioners, but the majority try to do an honest job.  They are regularly challenged by the noise of the marketplace and a public that doesn’t want to hear, but they keep at it because they know what can happen.