Any Day Now...the Big Muddy and the Banking industry

When I was an undergrad at Nicholls State University a "few" years ago (honestly, it feels as if it were only a few years ago), I frequently met a friend for lunch between classes.  One day, her class ran overtime, so I met her at her classroom door as she and her fellow geology majors were abuzz with the topic of conversation that day.

What had them so excited?

Most of us at NSU were from the Southern United States, specifically, the most Southern part of Louisiana, near New Orleans.  We grew up in a culture rich with history and with much of our activities and economy defined by the water surrounding us.  In their geology class that day, the topic of discussion was the long-overdue course-correction of the Mississippi River.

According to the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College (SERC), the Mississippi River stays put for about 1,000 years, then moves laterally across the Delta Region. The rub?  The current course (white line in the satellite photo) has been in place for over 1,300 years.

SERC says that the River deposits enough sediment in its thousand-year stay (hence, the name "Big Muddy") to make the Delta rise.  Once the Delta is significantly above sea level, the river channel will migrate to a shorter, more direct route (blue line) to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The geology students' excitement that day had to do with the course-correction itself.  I heard many of them say they wanted to be there the day it happened to see it first-hand.  The business majors among us were concerned about the New Orleans economy after that rather cataclysmic event, but the geologists simply said that New Orleans would still be a vibrant international port city - just a salt-water one.  This is truly a geologist's great adventure.

The Banking Industry

What does the River course correction have to do with the Banking industry?  A recent report by E&Y - "Rethinking Risk Management" - states that the demands of regulators and, in turn, the reaction of shareholders will change the current banking business model.  To me, it is exceedingly evident that the financial services industry business model will change--and change drastically.  I don't look at it with fear and trepidation; this is an adventure.  Like those geology students, I am excited about the change, and I want very much to be a part of that adventure.