March is ‘Move Your Money’ month

cepheus

Is anyone else participating in this? Personally I won't move my money totally out of NatWest but will certainly keep the balance as low as possible

Today, Move Your Money Month begins.

On-going bonus culture, failing to meet lending targets to small business and increasing customer complaints has been the narrative for the exasperated public this February. Post the financial crisis, behaviour in the city hasn’t changed and it’s high time something was done about it.

March 2012 is Move Your Money Month. We’re calling for people to move their money from the 5 big banking groups into local, mutual and ethical alternatives.

cepheus

Oh well, so much for the power of the consumer. It seems safe to grant themselves another pay rise.

I never believed in this myth anyway, government regulation is the key.

opinions4u

cepheus wrote: »

On-going bonus culture

Bonuses are falling rapidly - and the head-honchos at LBG and RBS waived their rights.

failing to meet lending targets to small business

Some banks did meet those targets. One sharply exceeded them. Many small businesses are reluctant to borrow in the current climate. Longer term that may be no bad thing.

and increasing customer complaints

Most banks and building societies are showing significant reductions in complaint volumes.

I'm all for seeking out value. But some of this rhetoric is misleading.

thatsean

In theory this is a lovely idea, however one must remain practical. I have used a variety of banks and building societies, and whilst my inner 'tree hugger' was delighted when using the likes of the Coventry, on a more practical level there's a reason the big 5 are the big 5. I find Lloyds' online and app based services very handy, and the money manager feature is pretty nifty too. That and the breadth of access, and services such as SMS alerts mean that I'm loath to make my life more difficult just to invest in a (relatively) obscure building society.

Allthough this does make for an interesting debate, is value a purely fiscal measure? Aside from the marketing team at the Co-Op I've not met anyone who thinks otherwise. I'm happier with my Vantage interest, my monthly subs to Shelter and buying the big issue guy near the library a coffee when I see him. A combination that keeps everyone happy!

u704446

opinions4u wrote: »

Bonuses are falling rapidly - and the head-honchos at LBG and RBS waived their rights.

Completely willingly of course

cepheus

The pay of the top execs in most industries have soared over the past fe decades, particularily the banks, so unless they are brought down to the equivalent of 70s values at least they are earning far too much.

opinions4u

cepheus wrote: »

The pay of the top execs in most industries have soared over the past fe decades, particularily the banks, so unless they are brought down to the equivalent of 70s values at least they are earning far too much.

This is true, and I totally agree with the viewpoint.

Executive pay started to soar once senior salary disclosure became a requirement in reports and accounts.

Pay transparency, a measure aimed to reign in excessive pay, actually caused it to grow exponentially.

Biggles

I move mine (or some of it) every month, to the account(s) with the highest interest rates.

cepheus

The banks have no shame, just profit By James Coney

It's been another bumper year for the banks. But this year the tone of their chief executives has been of one of contrition. After years of bad behaviour and mis-management of our money, the big bosses have finally accepted some blame. They reined in their bonuses and, in some cases, even apologised for some of the worst mis-selling scandals in a generation.One or two even told how they were making less money from their High Street business — that’s money made from you and me using current accounts, opening savings and taking loans — compared with the previous year.

Only that’s not quite true. With the exception of Santander and Lloyds, every one of the big names made more cash from their day-to-day customers in 2011 than they did in 2010. The only reason the business suffered was because of the vast amounts of compensation they have been forced to fork out for payment protection insurance policies, which should never have been sold in the first place. Strip this out and it was a pretty good year — for them, that is, not for us. This tells you how sorry they really are. The banks know the money they made from flogging payment protection insurance has gone. But when one door closes, another opens.

And it seems home, travel, pet and car insurance may be the way banks have found to prop up their bottom line. The report on how banks are making £341 every second and the terrible tale of Steven Duck, reinforce my concerns that, increasingly, many insurance claims are being rejected unfairly.......

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2107791/JAMES-CONEY-The-banks-shame-just-profit.html#ixzz1oAVtmHpH

[Deleted User]

It's worth considering, of course, that in this day and age, ethical-ness takes a back seat - rightly or wrongly - to the necessary "survival of the fittest" mentality.

To paraphrase it to the animal kingdom, take this cute fluffy kitten, and this hungry crocodile. Put the two in a box, close the lid, and come back in an hour.

While we'd -like- the kitten and the crocodile to have made friends, it's highly unlikely.