curious little leo
DESCRIPTION
“Curious little Leo” is a children’s book about money, which is created by a unique campaign with the collaboration of future bankers and future clients. Read more about the Next Generation Banking campaign http://www.ing-nextgenerationbanking.com/TRANSCRIPT
CURIOUSLITTLE LEOASKS THE BEST QUESTIONIN THE HISTORY OF ALLQUESTIONS EVER ASKED
© 2013 ING BANK N.V.
This publication was realised by:
Concept: ENERGIZE+ Amsterdam, Wenka Booij (ING Bank)
Authors: Jesse Ridder, Jurriaan van Bokhoven & all the contributors of the
Next Generation Banking challenge
Editor: Mariska Hammerstein
Illustrations: Rhonald Blommestijn (Artbox)
Art direction: Jurriaan van Bokhoven, Jesse Ridder
Lay-out: Jurriaan van Bokhoven, Martijn de Vries (Studio Doen)
Production: Annemarie Neef, Paul Koole
Printed by: Studio Doen
First print.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy or any
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Dear reader, young or old,
This book is the result of a unique collaboration between future bankers and
future clients. We hope that it may inspire you to always stay curious.
Enjoy.
Koos Timmermans
Vice-chairman of ING Bank
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Leo is 9 years old. He is a very creative boy who loves
to draw. One day Leo got a great idea. “I’m going
to make my own money!” he said. So he grabbed his
best coloured pencils and started drawing the most
precious banknote ever made. It was green, yellow,
and pink. Leo used only two numbers: the 1 and the 0.
He started with the one and then covered the whole
paper with zeroes. Now his banknote was worth one
hundred billion million gazillion euros, and Leo could buy
anything he wanted. To keep this valuable money safe,
he decided to go to Mr Bank.
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“Who are you? What are you doing here?” asked Mr Bank. His voice
sounded like a hundred voices put together. And with the sound of a thousand
buzzing bees, all of Mr Bank’s cameras suddenly turned towards Leo!
“I’m Leo, and I have very precious money I want to keep safe!” said Leo. He stuck out his tongue and made funny faces at Mr Bank’s cameras.
Mr Bank smiled, even though he didn’t have a mouth. “I’m afraid I can’t
accept that money, little Leo. Nobody will be able to pay with money you’ve
created yourself.”
Not only was Leo very creative, he was also quite curious.
He looked up at Mr Bank and he asked him a question.
A good question. The best question.
The best question in the history of all questions ever asked:
“Open your vault, Mr Bank!” called Leo.
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Mr Bank stayed quiet for a while. And a while longer. And after having
thought about Leo’s question very long and hard, he finally answered:
“Well, little Leo, you simply can’t pay with money you’ve created yourself.
But if someone really likes it, he may want to buy it from you. But then, it
wouldn’t be called money. It would be called a piece of art. And a piece of
art is worth whatever someone wants to pay for it. You could say it’s worth
ten euros. And someone else could say it’s worth ten cents. People pay with
real money, because everybody knows what that money is worth. That’s
because money is a very, very good agreement. An agreement everybody
promised to keep.”
“That’s great!” said Leo. “I hereby promise that my money is worth more than all the money in the world! So everybody can buy everything with it!”
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And in return for their gold, I gave them a piece of paper. So everybody
started using my pieces of paper to pay for things. Because those pieces of
paper had value that was related to gold. Those pieces of paper we now call
money. Everybody trusts this money because people know it has real value.”
“So is this what we need banks for?” asked Leo. “To create money?”
“No, I don’t create paper money anymore, Leo. These days money is
created by one very special bank, that only works for the government,”
Mr Bank explained. “What I do now is fix puzzles. The puzzle of people
who have money and people who need money. When people bring me their
money, I keep it safe for them in my big vault. But instead of letting all that
money just sit, I lend some of it to people who really need it. Because
sometimes people have a dream and they need money to make that dream
come true.”
Mr Bank shook his head. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way, Leo.
Money has to be something of real value. Let me explain…”
“A long time ago, people didn’t use money. They just traded things. Four
loaves of bread for a chicken. A cow for some land. Or ten tomatoes for
twenty potatoes. But that got confusing. People weren’t always happy with
what they got in return. And taking your cow to the store wasn’t very handy.
So people started using pieces of gold to pay for things. Because gold is
very beautiful and shiny and most of all… very precious. It’s precious
because there isn’t all that much gold in the world. And the less we have of
something, the more it’s worth.”
“Then my parents are very rich!” yelled Leo. “Because our dog Max is a real Golden Retriever!”
Mr Bank smiled. “Well, I don’t think Max would
like to live in my big vault. There’s only gold in there.
The gold that people brought to me, to keep it safe.
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Mr Bank sat down and cleared his throat. He had noticed that his voice
sounded like a hundred voices put together. That is not a very pleasant
storytelling voice. So after clearing his throat, he said in a single voice:
“Imagine you really like birds. You want to make special birdhouses
and sell them. Not just to your parents, but also to your grandparents,
neighbours, and teachers. Then what do you need? You need a hammer,
a saw, wood and some nails. But you don’t have any of those things yet.
So you’ll need money to buy them. That’s where I can help! Because I have
a lot of money in my vault that I can lend you. So you can start making
your birdhouses.”
“Then, after a couple of days of hard work, your birdhouses are ready.
You can start selling them to your parents, grandparents, neighbours, and
teachers. And guess what Leo, you just made some real money! And with all
the money you just earned, you can pay back what you borrowed from me.”
“Great!” said Leo. “But I don’t really want to make birdhouses. Could you just lend me one hundred billion million gazillion euros, so I can buy whatever I want for the rest of my life? Let’s see, I’m going to buy a brand new bicycle….. a giant TV…. a game console… a house full of cookies….”
Mr Bank interrupted him. “Wait a second, Leo. Lending money isn’t free.
It actually costs you money. Not only do you have to pay me back, you also
have to pay me something extra.”
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“It’s like a thank-you,” Mr Bank explained. “Let’s say your mother wants to make
cookies one day. She’s got all the ingredients she needs, except for sugar. So she
borrows a cup of sugar from the neighbours. She promises to return the cup of
sugar later. And when the cookies are ready, she gives them a cup of sugar and
some of the cookies. In other words, she borrowed something, and she gave it
back with something extra. That’s what we call ‘interest’. Pretty interesting, isn’t it?”
Mr Bank started shaking with laughter. “Funny joke, if I may say so myself.”
When Mr Bank noticed that Leo didn’t understand his joke he got serious again.
“Interest is the money I earn for lending you money. And do you remember that all
this money actually belonged to other people? The people who put it into my vault?
Well, I also pay them a part of that interest. This way, everybody earns money!”
“Why isn’t it enough that I just pay you back?” asked Leo.
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“You mean to tell me that if I put money into your vault, I would also get something extra?”
“That’s right, Leo! That’s what happens when people bring me their
money,” said Mr Bank. Leo wanted to make sure he understood.
“You are saying that there are people that bring you money. And there are people that borrow money, so they can do things to make money themselves. Then why are there still poor countries?” he asked. “You said you would fix the puzzle of people who have money, and people who need money. And by fixing that puzzle, everybody earns more money. So why don’t you do that for the poor countries as well?”
You see, a lot of people already give to poor countries. They give things
like food, medicine and money. But there’s an old saying that goes:
‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and
you feed him for a lifetime.’ So it would be a lot better if the people in
these countries learned how to earn money themselves. I do my best
to help groups who lend small amounts of money to the people there,
so they can start their own small businesses. And sometimes I also give
money to help children in these countries.
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This gave Leo a wonderful idea:
“You know what I’m going to do, Mr Bank? I’m going to start a business myself! I’m going to draw lots of paper money. And then I’m going to sell those drawings to my parents, grandparents, neighbours, and my teachers. And then, when I have earned enough money, I’m going to travel to the poor countries. I’ll teach the people how to make money for themselves!”
Mr Bank was very proud of what he just heard. “You inspire me, Mr Leo. You
have wonderful ideas. So let me help you. Will you sell me that banknote
you created yourself? It would be an honour to be your first customer.” Leo
happily sold Mr Bank his homemade money and said goodbye. And what
did he do with the real money he just earned?
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He bought himself a beautiful new colouring set!
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Thanks Noah, Nia, Bobby, LouLou and
Lane for your inspiring questions.
And to all the contributors for your
inspiring answers!
scan this QR code to see the video
Adrian Alexe
Adrian Pop
AE Rehman
Agnieszka Piasecka
Aizaz Jabbar
Alin Labau
Alina Axenciuc
Amr Hefny
Ana Maria Ghica
Ana-Maria Simona Wogh
Anca Mitroi
András Szabó
Andreea Elena Galbinasul
Andrei Bogdan
Andrei Risto
Andrés González Córdoba
Anke van Os
Anne Mariel Cabale
Anton Miklowicz
Antonio Alagna
Antonio Giannino
Anum Ali
Arif Shaik
Assya-Beatrice Ivanova
Bernardo Santos Betley
Bobby Mirauta
Bright King Chukwu
Bruno Gorga
Carmen Alboi-Sandru
Cata Sima
Catalin Zabava
Chitan Adrian
Christina Pinzari
Constantin Mârza
Cornelis Valentijn
Cris Huertas
Cristian Stefan
Dan Catalin Dumitrescu
Dancho Barriento
Daniel Debie
Danny Jasperse
David Panamá
Eduard Botes
Ela Carabella
Elisa Cabutto
Eric Lai
Eskor John
Estée Hak
Ezra Hortensius
Fabian Alber
Faruk Yasa
Filip Coenen
Florin Visa
Francesco Morino
Francesco S. Coronas
Freemarket Freedomfighter
Funmilayo Mide-Ajala
Gabriela Vasilescu
Gellert Lapka
Gregory Moulinet
Himanshu Yadav
Iulian Stefan Turtaru
Jan Kazmierczak
Joao Assis
Jolanta Hosecka
Joris Berckmans
Jose Arregui
José Nicodemos Maia Neto
Joseph Pyunghua
Kevin Tosh
Kristof Beckers
Krzysiek Dudzic
Loes van Gemert
Loganathan Anandan
Lu Ke
Luis Almenar Pizcueta
Maciej Wujciów
Maciek Ziolkowski
Mahmoud Abduo
Margaret Wanjiru Maina
Maria Alexandra
Maria Assey
Marigona Gashi
Markaveli Shakur
Marton Bod
Massimiliano Serraiotto
Mauro Alexis Battellini
May XI
Michał Chełmowski
Miguel Voigt
Miklos Norbert
Milanko Kuna
Muntean Norbert
Nambasa Joyce
Natasa Jevtovic
Nati Velasquez Lo
Nicolas Sadeck
Nicu Dorobantu
Nina Cheng
Oana-Maria Budu
Olivier Hubert
Paweł Budrewicz
Petre Lazar
Prashant Nayak
Ricardo Azevedo
Ricardo Dijkhof
Rj ALee
Rob Schepens
Sami Kantaoui Jegham
Sandu Lungu
Sarah Peters
Saskia van den Berg
Sebastian Sanchez Deuer
Sergi Fernández
Serhej Turiashvili
Shoaib Khaleeli
Silvan Banu
Ssempiira Jacob
Stefan Buitrago
Stefan Hudici
Stefan-Radu Alexe
Stéphane Rolland
Sulayman Hussain
Tayfun Ursavas
Teo Dumitrescu
Tomasz Szlazak
Tommaso Sorchiotti
Tudor Ion
Ulfie KareBear
Umang Rathi
Uroš Vuckovic
Vadim Mura
Ville Wallenius
Yasmin Yunes
Yasser Al Romany Yunis
Many thanks for your inspiring contributions:
If you contributed to the project but don’t see your name here, we truly apologize. Your submission is still very much appreciated.
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Many thanks for your insightful articles:
Lucy KellawayFinancial Times
Read article: http://tinyurl.com/cn26a5l
Dr. Kara Tan BhalaSeven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics
Read article: http://tinyurl.com/bs9sx7s
Many thanks for your support:
AIESEC Andreas Sung Unstad
Check: http://www.facebook.com/AIESECglobal
More information:
www.ing.jobs
Stay connected:
facebook.com/INGcareers
@INGTalents
Stay curious!
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