Bank Watch ...

[extractorfan]

She uses more metaphors than Bob Diamond!

I agree though, can't beat a good sacking, a financial enema.

[Aurora]

The Independent - 06/07/12

People are finding fun ways to give Barclays a bashing.

But a campaign to make people transfer their cash is getting serious results.

Article continues ...

See also: http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/

[adam2]

If someone owes money to barclays, they probably cant easily move to another bank.
If however someone is in credit and likely to remain so, then moving to another bank is relatively easy.

Now, I wonder what would happen if those in credit all decamp, but those in debt remain with barclays ? Remembering that even a sound bank cant withstand more than a small percentage of customers wanting their money back at the same time.

[Little John]

If someone owes money to barclays, they probably cant easily move to another bank.
If however someone is in credit and likely to remain so, then moving to another bank is relatively easy.

Now, I wonder what would happen if those in credit all decamp, but those in debt remain with barclays ? Remembering that even a sound bank cant withstand more than a small percentage of customers wanting their money back at the same time.

Yep

It won't take need a bank run to take one of these buggers down. The existing fractional reserve ratios coupled with bullshit accounting means that a bank walk will be quite sufficient.

[energy-village]

If someone owes money to barclays, they probably cant easily move to another bank.
If however someone is in credit and likely to remain so, then moving to another bank is relatively easy.

Now, I wonder what would happen if those in credit all decamp, but those in debt remain with barclays ? Remembering that even a sound bank cant withstand more than a small percentage of customers wanting their money back at the same time.

Yep

It won't take need a bank run to take one of these buggers down. The existing fractional reserve ratios coupled with bullshit accounting means that a bank walk will be quite sufficient.

Except the government would spark up the printing presses to save a "too big to fail" bank. Bob Diamond and his type have got us by the short and curlies.

[Aurora]

The Independent - 07/07/12

Exclusive: Barclays insider lifts lid on bank's toxic culture

A former senior Barclays employee today exposes the “culture of fear” that operated at the bank and claims Bob Diamond would have been aware of his traders' activities.

Speaking exclusively to The Independent, the banker alleges that senior executives would have known of Libor fiddling in 2008.

Article continues ...

[Aurora]

The Guardian - 07/07/12

'Big five' bank customers vent anger by taking their money elsewhere

Ethical alternatives see applications soar in the wake of NatWest IT fiasco and Barclays rate-rigging scandal.

Article continues ...

BBC News - 08/07/12

Labour leader Ed Miliband urges banking sell-off

Labour leader Ed Miliband is pushing for further banking reform in order to make the industry more competitive.

Mr Miliband told the Mail on Sunday that the biggest High Street banks should be forced to sell off hundreds of branches.

He said this would allow for two new "challenger banks" to offer extra competition and reduce bank charges.

The government has already promised to create one such bank and Lloyds is selling more than 600 branches.

The Labour leader said the "big five", which are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and HBOS, should divest of hundreds branches to enable the privately run challenger banks to emerge.

He wants to force them to help small businesses and to stop confusing the public with jargon.

The government is committed to creating one challenger bank by the end of 2013, but Labour believes there should be two new banks by 2015.

Article continues ...

[Aurora]

The Guardian - 08/07/12

Vince Cable: banks are 'throttling' UK economic recovery

Banks' anti-business culture and 'obsession with short-term profits' is harming the economy, warns business secretary.

Article continues ...

[energy-village]

Labour leader Ed Miliband urges banking sell-off

Labour leader Ed Miliband is pushing for further banking reform in order to make the industry more competitive.

Mr Miliband told the Mail on Sunday that the biggest High Street banks should be forced to sell off hundreds of branches.

He said this would allow for two new "challenger banks" to offer extra competition and reduce bank charges.

The government has already promised to create one such bank and Lloyds is selling more than 600 branches.

The Labour leader said the "big five", which are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and HBOS, should divest of hundreds branches to enable the privately run challenger banks to emerge.

He wants to force them to help small businesses and to stop confusing the public with jargon.

The government is committed to creating one challenger bank by the end of 2013, but Labour believes there should be two new banks by 2015.

Article continues ...

I know the banks were planning on closing large numbers of high street banks anyway (cost saving, rise of the internet etc).

Major banks are planning to close branches at a rate of more than two a week in the coming months, according to the Mirror, as more and more customers ditch the High Street in favour of online and mobile banking.

It is claimed that Barclays, HSBC, RBS/NatWest and Santander are to close a total of 135 branches by the end of 2012 - although some campaigners believe it could be more.

http://www.thinkmoney.com/banking/news/ ... 0-5393.htm

Is the difference that customers, assets and debts are to be sold along with the branches?

Even if this Labour arrangement did go ahead there was only one rival to the Co-op for the ex-Lloyds branches . . . NBNK. If you look into that unholy outfit of opportunists and dodgy geezers it doesn't look like any improvement (though they might chuck Labour a few quid of much needed funding . . . . shhhhhh . . . ).

Also - by far the most serious problems lie with the WE ARE DODGY banking operations, not with the high street activities. Making the big banks flog off branches won't help, especially when the WE ARE DODGY operation is to be split off idc anyway.

[Aurora]

The Guardian - 09/07/12

World economy: banking on disaster

An economic system in need of restructuring is frozen in aspic by the very characters who landed it in crisis.

Article continues ...

[Aurora]

The Guardian - 09/07/12

Finance industry's multimillion-pound lobbying budget revealed

Investigation shows sector spent £92m in 2011 to secure favourable policy changes as part of 'economic war of attrition'.

Article continues ...

[Aurora]

The Independent - 13/07/12

Banks inquiry branded 'total joke' as key inquisitors excluded

Article continues ...

[UndercoverElephant]

The Independent - 13/07/12

Banks inquiry branded 'total joke' as key inquisitors excluded

Article continues ...

"This exposes the inquiry as a total whitewash with Andrew Tyrie reaching his conclusions in advance of the meetings.

"We need to get to the bottom of this scandal and I'm therefore setting up my own inquiry into this dreadful mess."

Extraordinary. Somebody still doesn't get it, obviously. Pandora's box has already been opened. It is not going to be possible to stop the rest of the truth from coming out, one way or another, because too many people already know too much, and because far too much is at stake. And it's not like this is just about something that happened in the past - there is much more at stake in the future, and all of the main players know this too.

[energy-village]

John Mann shouldn't have asked that greedy schoolboy Osborne when was the last time he bought a pasty. If anyone can face using twitter, he's worth following by the look of things.

There will have to be a collapse before there is any chance of getting to the bottom of things . . . so presumably not long to wait.

[Little John]

Labour leader Ed Miliband urges banking sell-off

Labour leader Ed Miliband is pushing for further banking reform in order to make the industry more competitive.

Mr Miliband told the Mail on Sunday that the biggest High Street banks should be forced to sell off hundreds of branches.

He said this would allow for two new "challenger banks" to offer extra competition and reduce bank charges.

The government has already promised to create one such bank and Lloyds is selling more than 600 branches.

The Labour leader said the "big five", which are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and HBOS, should divest of hundreds branches to enable the privately run challenger banks to emerge.

He wants to force them to help small businesses and to stop confusing the public with jargon.

The government is committed to creating one challenger bank by the end of 2013, but Labour believes there should be two new banks by 2015.

Article continues ...

I know the banks were planning on closing large numbers of high street banks anyway (cost saving, rise of the internet etc).

Major banks are planning to close branches at a rate of more than two a week in the coming months, according to the Mirror, as more and more customers ditch the High Street in favour of online and mobile banking.

It is claimed that Barclays, HSBC, RBS/NatWest and Santander are to close a total of 135 branches by the end of 2012 - although some campaigners believe it could be more.

http://www.thinkmoney.com/banking/news/ ... 0-5393.htm

Is the difference that customers, assets and debts are to be sold along with the branches?

Even if this Labour arrangement did go ahead there was only one rival to the Co-op for the ex-Lloyds branches . . . NBNK. If you look into that unholy outfit of opportunists and dodgy geezers it doesn't look like any improvement (though they might chuck Labour a few quid of much needed funding . . . . shhhhhh . . . ).

Also - by far the most serious problems lie with the WE ARE DODGY banking operations, not with the high street activities. Making the big banks flog off branches won't help, especially when the WE ARE DODGY operation is to be split off idc anyway.

The problem isn't really about which bank anyone decides to bank with (though some are undoubtedly worse than others). The problem is the system of banking and money creation as a whole. As long as we have a system where commercial banks are free to lend money into existence, then we will always have problems like this occurring on a regular basis.

Even if one were to bank with the likes of the Co-op, they must still raise their own capital, presumably, by borrowing off the commercial sector. The commercial sector are the ones who lend money into existence and so when a domestic bank borrows off them in order to be able to lend to you and me, they are as much a part of this ponzi scheme as the commercial banks. It basically makes a mockerty of their fractional reserve ratios since the "cash" they are holding is, in truth, newly lent into existence credit. It was just lent into existence one step up the line, that's all. Furthermore, if any domestic bank does not take the cheap "money" on offer from the commercials, then they will not be able to compete on the high street and so will go out of business.

Every thing else, ("ethical banking" and all the rest) is just details.

The entire system needs to go.