Do you care more about your bank’s ethics, or its rates?

Former_MSE_Debs · 3 July 2012 at 2:34PM

Poll started 3 July 2012, click here to vote

It was tough to imagine banks' reputations could sink any lower. Then we had NatWest's screw-up, followed by the Barclays scandal, and potentially more revelations of moral bankruptcy to come. Yet does this really matter to you?

Please rank the following attributes of your bank account in order with the most important first.

· Rates:Competitive interest and perks.

· Facilities: Either a nearby branch or good online banking.

· Customer Service: Speaking to real people who help.

· Ethics: How the bank as a whole operate and behave.

· Brand: A bank I know.

LittleMissAspie · 3 July 2012 at 4:01PM

Before I had a mortgage I went for ethics and banked with the Co-op. But they don't do offset mortgages so I had to change and I went for the best rate. I've had no problems with my current bank, they seem pretty competent, so I won't bother changing back to the Co-op when the mortgage finishes.

Bit disappointed that ethics are only 4th in the poll at time of posting.

Stuart_W · 3 July 2012 at 6:27PM

LittleMissAspie wrote: »

Before I had a mortgage I went for ethics and banked with the Co-op. But they don't do offset mortgages so I had to change

They do now (under Britannia).

I'd like to see what the rankings are for everyone's first choice - a ranking average seems to be making all of them (except brand) get a very similar score. An average rank of 2.5 after 400 votes could be 200 people putting it 1st and 200 people putting it 4th, or 100 1st, 100 2nd, 100 3rd, 100 4th.

cherylim · 3 July 2012 at 6:33PM

· Facilities: Either a nearby branch or good online banking.
· Customer Service: Speaking to real people who help.
· Brand: A bank I know.
· Ethics: How the bank as a whole operate and behave.
· Rates:Competitive interest and perks.

That's mine. I do all my banking online, and only visit a branch when there's a cheque to pay in, so I want to be able to everything online and quickly.

I want to know that if anything goes wrong, there's someone I can contact who'll listen to me, and I want to recognise a name and know that a company are in the public eye and that things couldn't go wrong without a large number of people knowing about it. Ethics are all well and good, but unless a bank is committing murder or ruining the environment an excessive amount then I'm not really bothered.

It's not the MSE way, I know, but rates aren't a big deal to me at all. I want my bank to look after my money and give me access and control, and I'm not bothered how much I make out of it. As long as the money I've put in stays under my control, I'm happy.

cherryaa · 4 July 2012 at 2:00AM

I put ethics first, but not purely out of altruism. Ethical investments perform better; terrible ethics caused the financial farrago we're in; money votes harder than the poll these days and I'm voting for better ethics all round.

The only surprising part of the results so far, though, was brand coming in last. Good! I'd like those arrogant big names to be a little less smug about their market share.

Gordon_the_Moron · 4 July 2012 at 9:26AM

I think this poll should let you answer twice, once for savings accounts and once for current accounts. I'd have a savings account with any bank/building society that offers the best rates. Current accounts I value service a little more, I would not touch Halifax, Barclays or LloydsTSB with a barge pole from personal experience and after recent events would be reluctant to go back to Natwest/RBS.

That said I am a Satisfied Santander customer so either I'm easily satisfied or disagree with a hell of a lot of people!

dibbydoos · 4 July 2012 at 5:38PM

Barclay's has to be the worst bank (for business) on the planet! Customer services cut you off - if you have a transaction issue, the transaction team won't speak to you (I am told they are not customer facing) but then no-one else can resolve the transaction issue for you! Unbelievable! We're moving never to return and with 1% corporation tax and rate fixing the company needs closing for being unethical!

I 'bank' with a local building society -fantastic service and local branches who can't do enough for you!

topgranny · 4 July 2012 at 6:06PM

I just tried to give my answers on the banking poll but a message came up saying that I had already submitted an answer! Since I've only just started reading the weekly e-mail and got to the poll only a couple of minutes ago, I don't know how this happened.

If this blip happens a lot it will skew the overall result. Maybe not too important but I wonder if this has happened before.

pineapple · 11 July 2012 at 6:42AM

I'm considering moving savings from one of the big four to Charity Bank. It's partly about ethics but also about security. Until banks separate their investment arms basically they are gambling with our money. And we all know how that's going.....

cing0 · 23 January 2013 at 8:18PM

Its a loose loose situation for bank users. At the top of this un-ethical tree is the financial ombudsman who see every dirty trick that every bank and customers use - and uses this to its advantage as well.

Do you care more about your bank’s ethics, or its rates?

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