Like all predictions, you should approach the following with caution – but here are some thoughts of what the world might look like in ten years time. To begin with, the idea of continuous, rapid growth will be over – sustainability will become the new socio-economic model. The natural order.

Lending so that people can spend will become an anathema. Instead, lending will need to generate transformation – something useful. Similarly, lending against (theoretical) financial assets will give way to lending against productive (real) assets.

Trading as a profession will revert to being a facilitator of banking operations – not the mainstay of its profits. (Bankers may need to trade in their Maseratis for bicycles.) Forget credit loans, credit cards, and even mortgages. People will have to save to spend. Industries will actually need to produce something to grow. Banks will need to stay small, behave realistically, and – outrageously – deny people loans from time to time. The benefit, though, is that prices will invariably have to come down to make things like homes more affordable. In the future, the average house should not cost more than three and a half times the average annual salary.

And those with gold in reserve will be first in line to put down their deposit. Whatever the future holds, the past has always proven the true value of gold. It stores your wealth.

Beautifully.