How banks never lose/TV bank hol 25th Aug.

di3004

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/dispatches/how+the+banks+never+lose/2425927

Thought I would add this link, this is on TV tonight, it may be of some interest.

Apologies if I have added in wrong part of the forums.;)

Di.

natweststaffmember

Programme starting now

di3004

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Programme starting now

Lol, well what did you think of it ?:rolleyes:

I had left a reminder on here and then forgot to watch it myself.....:o .
Nah I did have it on but some visitors turned up, wish I taped it now...:rolleyes: did I miss anything exciting ?

Cheers.:D
Di.
x

icefall

It was good, basically saying how the banks, the city and chief executives of banks are getting over a million a year in bonuses + around a million a year in wages. Still with the credit crunch the citys bonuses went up last year.

The presenter also went to every single one of the big banks headquarters seperately and tried to get a meeting with each chief executive in front of the camera - funnily enough no one would meet him. He was saying how they are in ivory towers and are not accountable, when they make bad decisions they are still rewarded with millions, pensions etc.

The banks gamble our money and then had to be bailed out by the taxpayer so they are always in a win win situation.
The banks themselves contributed to the credit crunch with the way the bonus system works, it encourages short term gambling rather than long term returns.

Its the customers who pay through the nose every time for the banks mistakes.

Don't think I forgot anything - thats the gist of it anyway.

Spandavia

It also made the interesting point that we could all be using Credit Unions instead of Banks. Apparently there are about 400 of these in the UK (don't know if they meant branches or organisations) and the difference between a bank and a Credit Union is that the customers are the ultimate owners and can be actively involved in the running of them (if they want to). They're also alooot cheaper than Banks!

That point was made right at the end of the programme and, under stated as it was, it could cause the Banks a huge headache if people start taking that advice and leaving the high street banks. Imagine, even if only 10 or 15% of the public took there money out of Banks and into Credit Unions - it would be a disaster for them.

Personally I thought it was a good programme - but it could only 'take the horse to the water'. It has publicly broadcast what a lot of us already know but the programme can't make things change. We, on the other hand, can. Which is why the point about Credit Unions was so important. There's no way the Government or the regulators is going to stop the Banks ripping off the public (which is a very sad state of affairs). So we need to do something ourselves - take our money (if we have any) away from them and write to MP's complaining about the current situation and demanding they raise issues in the House of Commons.

Or, of course, we could just keep moaning and let them get away with it.

Sorry if that was a bit of a rant!!

best
Span

RichOneday_2

This was my summary on another thread:

Summary of programme Now let's see if we've got this right:

1. Official Receivers quite rightly frown upon reckless gambling because in essence if you're in debt you're gambling with other people's money.

2. If you work for one of the major banks it is in your job description to gamble recklessly.

3. If you are lucky and win loads of dosh on the reckless gambles you get paid a fat salary and a humongous bonus.

4. If you don't get lucky and lose loads of dosh on the reckless gambles you get paid a fat salary and a semi-humongous bonus.

5. The bank itself has a business plan which implicitly requires reckless gambling, not just with the bank's resources but the actual UK economy.

6 If the bank wins its reckless gambles it makes £billions ands gives all the money in bonuses and shareholder dividends.

7. If the bank loses its reckless gambles it loses £billions, but has a quick meeting with the other banks, increases LIBOR and therefore mortgage rates, and the £billions of losses disappear. It can still give loads of money in bonuses and shareholder dividends.

8. The FSA that regulates the behaviour of banks is paid for by the banks and run by ex-bankers and answers to nobody.

I could go on, but I'm getting a headache!!!

Spandavia

And let's not forget that the FOS is also funded (owned) by the Banks.

Nikiya

Yes, they are all having a big party, politicians included (the ones in power, mostly). And these figures would pale compared to what the "city boys (and girls)" make betting. Funny THAT betting is legal isn't it?
I know basically all the program showed, but I am glad this info is aired and other people are finding out how it works. The only new thing for me was these "credit unions" which are like cooperatives --cheaper than banks and ruled by the customers... sounds good. We'll have to start fighting back because no political party is going to do it for us.

Wutang_2

although the apprentice bloke seemed to suggest that the banks shareholders should make a stand (why should they), the government should intervene (that power has gone) and that the heads of the institutions were still getting paid massive bonuses (you knew that anyway - and would that really have any effect on the current economic climate??).

I loved the Credit Union question asked as well....something along the lines of "would you be interested in investing your money with a 'friendly society' which has no shareholders and would pay you better interest?"....

Spandavia

I've copied this info from a reply I got on another site. Hope it's useful.
What is a Credit Union?

A Credit Union is a form of cooperative society which offers somewhere its members can save and also apply for low cost loans with low rates not aimed at getting members deeper into unmanageable debt but to help its members to take greater control of their finances. It is a not-for-profit savings and loans co-operative owned and controlled by its members.

The credit union is directed and controlled by a volunteer Board of Directors. All officers of the credit union are members of the credit union, who are elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. All members of the credit union have one vote, regardless of how many shares they own. Credit unions are not a local or a new phenomenon.

Credit unions are active in over 80 countries, and over 100 million people internationally are members. The government and many other organisations see credit unions as a valuable tool in their mission to tackle financial exclusion. People who are concerned about the closure of bank branches and the demutualisation of building societies are also advocating the development of credit unions. Credit unions make sense for many reasons and they are tipped to be the next big thing in financial services.

Savings, Loans and Banking

A credit union is a financial co-operative, which is owned and controlled by its members. Members of a credit union save in a common fund. As well as being a good savings option, with successful credit unions paying an annual dividend of up to 8%, the money saved can be used to make low interest loans to other credit union members. Only people who come within the common bond of the credit union can join it and make use of its services. This can be a locality area or a common bond. Many Credit Unions now offer current accounts allowing as well as their normal loans & cash cards but also the facility to set up DD's to pay your bills thereby making them more competative with the banks.

For more information or to search for a local Credit Union see the Credit Union Search Link below.

It is a requirement to join as a member of a credit union and start to save a specified amount on either a weekly or monthly basis. Once you have joined you can start saving in a way that rewards both you (with an annual dividend, free life insurance and friendly service) and people in your community (our low cost loans can save the people of your community a huge amount in interest. Continued saving by members allows other members to be able to apply for loans with low interest rates. New members can usually apply for smaller loans often up to about £500 but they are required to continue to save for the duration of the loan as well as to make the required repayments on the loan. This enables the pool of saved money to be available to other members.


Borrowing from your credit union is great value.

Most credit unions loans will cost you no more than 1% a month on the reducing balance of the loan (an APR of 12.7%). What this means for example is that if you borrowed £1000 over 1 year, you would repay no more than £1067 in total. Many credit unions charge less, some may charge more but by law this cannot be more than 2% a month on the reducing balance (an APR of 26.8%). You can find out about what loans and interest rates are on offer at your local credit union by contacting them via the Credit Union Search section.
Credit union loans come with no hidden charges and no penalties for repaying the loan early. Life insurance is built in, at no cost to the borrower, so if you were to die before you had repaid the loan, insurance would repay the loan for you. Source: http://www.abcul.coop/page/about/borrowing.cfm


Useful Links

http://www.abcul.coop/page/members.cfm Credit Union Search

http://www.abcul.coop/page/index.cfm Association of British Credit Unions Ltd, the main trade association for credit unions

http://www.psi.org.uk/publications/publ ... tion_id=38 Policy Studies Institute

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consultat ... kforce.cfm HM Treasury - Credit Unions of the Future Taskforce Report
For info

icefall

RichOneday wrote: »

This was my summary on another thread:

Summary of programme Now let's see if we've got this right:

1. Official Receivers quite rightly frown upon reckless gambling because in essence if you're in debt you're gambling with other people's money.

2. If you work for one of the major banks it is in your job description to gamble recklessly.

3. If you are lucky and win loads of dosh on the reckless gambles you get paid a fat salary and a humongous bonus.

4. If you don't get lucky and lose loads of dosh on the reckless gambles you get paid a fat salary and a semi-humongous bonus.

5. The bank itself has a business plan which implicitly requires reckless gambling, not just with the bank's resources but the actual UK economy.

6 If the bank wins its reckless gambles it makes £billions ands gives all the money in bonuses and shareholder dividends.

7. If the bank loses its reckless gambles it loses £billions, but has a quick meeting with the other banks, increases LIBOR and therefore mortgage rates, and the £billions of losses disappear. It can still give loads of money in bonuses and shareholder dividends.

8. The FSA that regulates the behaviour of banks is paid for by the banks and run by ex-bankers and answers to nobody.

I could go on, but I'm getting a headache!!!

:D
I think your summary is better than mine!