You have to give the Spanish style points.The country that gave the world the gallant Don Juan and the ridiculous Don Quixote has now introduced the gentleman bill collector, "El Cobrador del Frac," which translates loosely to "the debt collector in top hat and tails." With close to 4 million people in Spain out of work, one business is booming: debt collectors who use public shaming to extract payment. The Christian Science Monitor wrote a hilarious piece recently on the Cobrador.

Picture this: would you be embarrassed if a man in a tuxedo and top hat follows you into a restaurant and silently joins your lunch party and starts chatting up your guests about your unpaid debts? How about a trio of rotund men dressed as superheroes who ask your neighbors for donations to help your financial situation? No one does debt collection like El Cobrador del Frac.

Spanish law is relatively lax when it comes to debt payment, allowing 95 days to settle bills. And Spanish courts give the matter low priority. So that puts collection agencies, like El Cobrador del Frac, in high demand.

Last year, the agency was asked to help when  a couple did not pay the $83,000 bill for their fancy wedding. The wedding company contacted the agency, who obtained the guest list and started phoning the guests one by one, "Did you have the lobster or the chicken?" And, then, upon that determination, asking "What address should we use to send you the bill?" Eventually, the embarrassed bride and groom decided to pay up.

El Cobrador del Frac employs more than 250 collectors and an equal number of secretaries and investigators. But they don't allow journalists to join in on their rounds.Ironically, they say, because they need to respect people's privacy.

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On risk management: "It's my job to keep Berkshire far away from such (derivative-related) problems. Charlie (Munger) and I believe that a CEO must not delegate risk control.It's simply too important. It has not been shareholders who have botched the operations of some of our country's largest financial institutions. Yet they have borne the burden, with 90% or more of the value of their holdings wiped out in most cases of failure.The CEOs and directors of the failed companies, however, have largely gone unscathed. It is the behavior of these CEOs and directors that needs to be changed."

 

 

Two oil painting and two prints of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan hang in the offices of the Hennessee Group in Manhattan. Charles Grandante, who owns the firm with his wife, suggests that "What I should do is make them into a dart board." And, then he continues, "All I see when I look at these paintings are two market crashes, a bear market, and the current economic crisis."

The paintings are the artifacts of a bygone era: a time when many Americans thought central bankers were cool, and Mr. Greenspan was the coolest, or perhaps hottest, of them all.In the years before the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street and Mr. Greenspan's reputation boomed in tandem. Before he was Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr. Greenspan headed Townsend-Greenspan, business economists. And, like his friend and mentor, Ayn Rand, he loved capitalism. In fact the walls of Townsend-Greenspan included his memos to staff: "Nothing from this office should go forth which discredits the capitalists system. Greed is good."

Back in 2005, artist Erin Crowe sold 50 Greenspan canvasses at one show in Manhattan, some for as much as $5,000 and $10,000. She painted one portrait on live television when Mr. Greenspan retired. It brought $150,400 for charity in an online auction. Now, the man that bought that painting keeps it under his bed.

One hedge-fund manager in Texas purchased his Greenspan for $3,000 when the Fed chairman's reputation was sterling.He still has the picture in his Dallas reception area. But the comments have turned from positive to "acerbic".

These days, Ms. Crowe is still painting financial gurus.She has now turned her attention to Ben Bernanke. She and other noted portrait artists like Wendi Gawne, say he's a "fresh face, it didn't have so many wrinkles, it felt baby-like". However, the new Fed Chairman's market value won't compare with Greenspan. One patron who paid $10,000 for a Greenspan is now offering Ms. Crowe $5,000 for Mr. Bernanke. That's a hefty pay cut.

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