The Institutional Risk Analyst

We received a number of comments on our discussion with David Kotok last week (“David Kotok: China, the Dollar and Bretton Woods 2.0”), but one of the most interesting observations came from veteran Bahamas-based gold fund manager Henry Smyth, who we interviewed last May (“Interview: Henry Smyth on the Return of Gold as Global Reserve Asset”):

Of course, in the muddled markets at present, there are a number of low-scoring banks which have done relatively well in recent weeks. The parent company of tiny Merchants Bank of Indiana, Merchants Bancorp (MBIN), for example, saw its stock price rise significantly in early 2026, 2x the S&P 500 over the past year, driven primarily by its inclusion in a major index and strong financial performance.