Switching our current accounts has become easier,
and according to the government, this is good news, as there will be more
competition on the high street. Within seven days, apparently, the switch can be
completed, all standing orders and direct debits sorted, and everyone better
off. Haven`t we heard that before? We only have to look at the energy companies
to realise that "more" does not mean "better" deals for the
consumers.
The big four, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, HSBC and
Barclays, hold 75% of our current accounts, and as we know their important role
in bringing about the 2007-8 crash, and the subsequent economic mess, it`s a
chance for us, the taxpayer and customer, to show our disapproval. More good
news is that the so-called challenger banks, the likes of Santander, Halifax and
Marks and Spencer, are making special offers to entice us, because they know
once we`ve signed up, the chances of us switching again are slight; after all,
haven`t we been with our present bank for years, perhaps since our student days,
or since our parents recommended theirs?
We may as well make the switch,if only
to make a point, but you can bet all is not as it seems; we are talking about
banks, after all.How many people are attracted by better than average savings
rates, only to find this includes a "bonus" rate, which soon disappears once
they`ve got our hard- earned cash? The chances of us, the plebs, getting similar
treartment with these deals are high. The most ethical of the banks is,
apparently. the Co-operative Bank, but sadly,recent news of this bank`s troubles
will not act as an incentive, despite assurances that current accounts are
absolutely safe.
Transparency is not the banks` strongest
point either; how many Lloyds customers might feel attracted by the deal at
Halifax, but not realise that the latter is owned by the former! The Post Office
has incentives, but how many of its new customers will realise that its owners
are the Bank of Ireland?
Of course, the banks make their biggest
profits from the "socially useless" activities by their investment sectors, but
that doesn`t mean profits are not also their main motive with our current
accounts; whatever money we give them , they will invest or lend out at a huge
profit, and that`s the point, No matter how many banks are on the high street,
their sole purpose is to make a profit out of us, their customers.The hundreds
of thousands the banks have spent on advertising their new "products"indicate
how much money they expect to make.The big 4 can become the big 8 or 10 but as
long as they are privately owned, by shareholders expecting dividends, and run
by individuals who know the size of their bonus depends on the profits they can
screw out of us, the banking culture will remain unchanged, and the
unadulterated greed will still be prevalent. Will
the Bank of Ireland, or Tesco, or Virgin, or whatever bank really
offer customers better deals, higher savings rates, more loans to small
businesses, cheaper mortgages to first-time buyers, all in order to kickstart
the economy? Of course not, the needs of the shareholders will take
priority.
It`s probably still worth giving a
switch a go; these newer and smaller banks weren`t the ones mis-selling
insurance policies, money-laundering drug dealers` wealth in Mexico, or fixing
the Libor rates, so, at worst, it`s a protest, and there may be some cash
benefit in it. However, only a state-owned bank, one whose primary objective is
not the shareholders` dividend, the avoidance and evasion of as much tax as
possible, nor the investment banker`s bonus, can act as a realistic
"challenger", and can attract sufficient customers away from the mainstream
ones. Labour should be doing everything in its power to delay the privatisation
of RBS; the myth that more privately-owned banks on the high street, offering
more current accounts, will make a difference needs to be exposed.
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