Lying, cheating, stealing — when we will end our abusive relationship with the big five banks?
Last week we found out that the big four banks have been lying, cheating and stealing from customers. And it’s not just the ‘big boys’ at Barclays who have been misbehaving, there has been systematic failure throughout the system.
It’s time to move our money. It’s not enough to be fed up, it’s time to act.
It’s difficult to overestimate the damage banks have done by lying about LIBOR and mis-selling interest rate swaps (click here for our FAQ).
By lying about LIBOR — the interest rate banks were paying when borrowing money from others — bankers were pushing up the cost of mortgages and siphoning money off pensions to spend on their ‘bottles of Bolly’. By mis-selling interest rate swaps, they’ve put huge pressure on small businesses and tipped some over the edge.
Even Meryvn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, described the banks behaviour as “deceitful” — but then he also doesn’t think we need an enquiry into banking, or apparently, any systemic changes to the financial system.
What’s even more frightening than the deceit, is the very real chance that there will no punishment or change as a result of these revelations. So far Barclays have been fined £290million, which is 10 days’ profit, poor Bob Diamond has had to give up his bonus and a private investigation has been launched into LIBOR rates. No criminal prosecutions, no public enquiry, no changes to banking structures, no better regulation.
We have a rotten banking system, a broken regulatory system and politicians who are more interested in point scoring that solving the problem. And yet 75% of people are still banking with one of the five big banks. Enough is enough -we can’t let the abuse go on, we have to move our money now and start building the better banking system we desperately need.
Please help spread the MOVE YOUR MONEY message today:
1) Email your friends and family telling them it’s time to end their abusive relationship with their bank
2) Spread the message on Facebook
3) Get the word out on Twitter: The big banks have lied, cheated & stolen. Don’t wait any longer: #MoveYourMoney today & help build a better banking system
4) Call 5 friends and ask them if they’re thinking of moving their money
Though most people in the UK currently bank with the “Big 5” — Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, RBS and Santander, we aren’t reliant on them. There is a flourishing group of financial providers that offer a safe and credible alternative. They have ownership structures and business strategies that are more geared towards benefiting people, communities and the environment. You can find out more about where you could move your money to, including credit unions, building societies, banks with strong ethical commitments and community development finance institutions here: www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/where-can-i-move-my-money-to
Originally published in July 2012 at moveyourmoney.org.uk
