'Second Life' refused the banks their rights of reincarnation

On the heels of banking scandals took place in the virtual world Second Life (SL), its publisher Linden Lab declared Tuesday that it is effectively banning banks from the offline reality.
"As of January 22, 2008, it will be prohibited to offer interest of any direct return on an investment (whether in Linden dollars or other currency) from any object, such as an ATM, located in Second Life, without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter," Linden Lab wrote on its blog. "We're implementing this policy after reviewing resident complaints, banking activities and the law, and we're doing it to protect our residents and the integrity of our economy."
This decision, coming after some residents lost money entrusted by them to in-world banks like the now-infamous Ginko Financial in 2007, is clearly aimed at restoring faith that some had lost in the stability of the SL's economy. Less than a year before, casinos also were banned in SL, which demonstrated that the world is on the up-and-up and therefore definitely not something that executive officials should gaze at.
The opinions of SL residents about the banking ban are quite various.
"So the existing so-called 'bankers' and 'stock exchanges' can just take the cash they have collected and run, eh," wrote Ann Otoole in a comment to the Linden Lab blog post. "Glad I never fell for this scam, but a lot of residents are going to be hurt so maybe (Linden Lab) should seize the assets of these 'banker' accounts right now and then figure out what to do with the assets. The amounts of (real life) money involved is pretty high and it will be sad to see these people get away scott free with nearly a million U.S. dollars."
But others saw the benefits of removing a disputable element to the SL economy, which sees around $1.3 million in daily activity.
"Thank you for doing this," wrote Lukas Mensing ibidem. "(It's the) first step to a real virtual economy."
It's pretty clear that Linden Lab simply had to do something to prevent criticism related to folded banks, which have taken residents' money with themselves. But only time will tell whether the move will stabilize the economy or at least be percepted by it. And for residents used the banks for various financial purposes, it will be highly interesting to proof the alternatives they have to appear in the coming months.

RuSar, reporter of Ecommerce Journal