So, Here’s the Deal
If I’m an automobile company, I’m going to build plants, struggle with shortages in parts and supplies, fight with the unions (if any are left), create a dealership network that sells and services my product and hope I’m sufficiently rewarding both my investors and buyers so I stay alive in the market. There’s fierce competition and a sea-change in the move toward electric vehicles as well.
The average worldwide profit-margin in my industry is 7.5%
Or, I can be a bank that issues credit cards. In that case I have no messy infrastructure, unions or dealerships to get in the way of extracting huge profits from my product. I don’t even properly have a product. My ‘product’ is money and—because I am a bank and only because I am a bank—the government allows me to count loans to customers as assets. Elsewhere, if you or I loan uncle Willy a thousand bucks, it’s a debt against our personal wealth until repaid. Further, (and think on this special deal for a moment) for every ten dollars a bank…