!"£$%^&* Banks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Witch consumer]

I know the importance of the banking system to the UK economy but I'm beginning to think we might just as well give them the keys to the Bank of England and the Royal Mint and let them get on with raping and pillaging Britain unheeded.

Why oh why do the government insist on throwing money at them when clearly their only motivation is self interest and a return to huge profit? Having blamed debtors for defaulting on credit the banks should never have given in the first place, they are now hiding behind savers as their excuse for not passing on interest rate cuts. Yes I remember when the rates were going up and they dragged their feet about passing the rates onto savers too.

Perhaps it's time for a serious rethink on The National Savings Bank, lets have some incentives to encourage savers to lend their hard earned cash to the government instead of the parasitic banks that rip us off at every turn. and instead of throwing huge amounts of OUR money at the banks, lets see a reintroduction of mortgage tax relief and reduced business rates so the public money goes where it is most needed instead of to the greedy bankers (good job the 'W' is at the other end of the keyboard).

Rant over

 

[Jorumian]

I feel your pain Witch consumer...

What bothers me is that in any other industry, when a business fails because of its own incompetence, then nobody rushes to help it out with huge wads of cash invested in it. Especially not when you know the major shareholders are still going to walk away with millions and millions of pounds each year.

I see no reason why the banks should have been saved any more than Woolworths or MFI. I think the government could have covered the money owed to people and repaid them what they were owed, but I find it revolting to hear that after taking what is in effect our money to be saved, the banks are now refusing to pass on the cuts in rates and still refusing to help people who need it the most.

One bank in America applied to the U.S Governments emergency fund for $7bn... received it... and then announced a package of $8bn to be paid in bonus payments next year to shareholders! That isn't just scandalous, it is plain wrong!

The banking, like the political system, in this country is long overdue an overhaul.

 

[GlasgowGirl]

I agree, they aren't doing themselves any favours. What I don't understand is how they continue to get away with it. Given that several UK banks are now part-nationalised, and as I understand it at least one (RBS) is now majority-owned by the taxpayer, I assume that representatives of the public must now have seats on their boards of management. So shouldn't they be having some sort of influence to ensure that rate cuts are passed on to the consumer, and advising that awarding themselves whopping bonuses is not only reprehensible but also astoundingly bad PR?

 

[Jorumian]

I believe how they get away with it is simply that they have set the rules for the industry as a whole and that the whole industry is weighted so that no matter what happens with your money, the bank can only really make a loss if they really make a complete hash of things... as indeed many have done.

I made a tongue in cheek post a while back asking why if the banks shortfall in cash was caused primarily by loans for homes, and the government had used public money to cover the banks shortfall. Surely then we have paid for our houses? Is it not the myriad of taxes that we pay that have been given to the bank to cover the shortfall? If you say "no, the money came from a huge loan" then who is going to pay back this loan? Our taxes. It is our loan therefore, and therefore it is our money paid to the banks.

However the rules regarding international finance are a mystery to me. But I think an increasing number of people are growing weary of the attitude of certain banks who are quick to come cap in hand when they need money, but when the shoe is on the other foot, are very reluctant to pass this onto their customers. Not because they cannot afford to, but simply because it may cut into "profits".