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Angela 'Mother Terasa' Knight gets her butt kicked.
This brought a smile to my face...
From The Times
July 28, 2007
Banks happy to be of disservice
Andrew Ellson
Heads, it seems, are securely stuck in the sand at the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). After a year in which the banking industry has come under intense scrutiny and no little criticism, Angela Knight, the BBA’s chief executive, used the organisation’s annual report, published last week, to congratulate her members on their performance.
I almost choked on my tea when I read Ms Knight praising the banks for their “transparent” services. I can only imagine that nobody has told Ms Knight, who is new to the job, that her members employ every trick in the book to disguise the true cost of almost every financial product that they sell.
Is she not aware that until this week her beloved banks have refused to reveal in court how they work out the cost of their excessive and disproportionate overdraft penalty fees? Or that lenders have been criticised by the Office of Fair Trading for bamboozling consumers into taking out expensive and unnecessary payment protection insurance? Or that mortgage lenders use hidden fees deceptively to lower headline rates of interest on home loans? Or that credit card companies use interest calculations so fiendishly complex that even experts are stumped? I could go on, but you get the point.
The fact is that the banks’ charging structures are about as transparent as the muddy floodwaters that have caused so much havoc this week. It is disingenuous to claim otherwise.
Ms Knight also lauded the industry’s generosity, pointing out proudly that large UK banks provide more than £100 million a year to charities and community initiatives. Sounds impressive. Until you compare this figure to profits. The big five banking groups of Barclays, HSBC, RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS generated earnings of almost £38 billion last year. Giving away £100 million of this is the equivalent of someone earning £25,000 a year donating just £5.50 a month to charity, hardly something to brag about.
The final insult was Ms Knight’s line about how the banks also offer great “value for money”. I’ll try to remember that the next time I am charged £84 for going £9 over my overdraft limit.
This brought a smile to my face...
From The Times
July 28, 2007
Banks happy to be of disservice
Andrew Ellson
Heads, it seems, are securely stuck in the sand at the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). After a year in which the banking industry has come under intense scrutiny and no little criticism, Angela Knight, the BBA’s chief executive, used the organisation’s annual report, published last week, to congratulate her members on their performance.
I almost choked on my tea when I read Ms Knight praising the banks for their “transparent” services. I can only imagine that nobody has told Ms Knight, who is new to the job, that her members employ every trick in the book to disguise the true cost of almost every financial product that they sell.
Is she not aware that until this week her beloved banks have refused to reveal in court how they work out the cost of their excessive and disproportionate overdraft penalty fees? Or that lenders have been criticised by the Office of Fair Trading for bamboozling consumers into taking out expensive and unnecessary payment protection insurance? Or that mortgage lenders use hidden fees deceptively to lower headline rates of interest on home loans? Or that credit card companies use interest calculations so fiendishly complex that even experts are stumped? I could go on, but you get the point.
The fact is that the banks’ charging structures are about as transparent as the muddy floodwaters that have caused so much havoc this week. It is disingenuous to claim otherwise.
Ms Knight also lauded the industry’s generosity, pointing out proudly that large UK banks provide more than £100 million a year to charities and community initiatives. Sounds impressive. Until you compare this figure to profits. The big five banking groups of Barclays, HSBC, RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS generated earnings of almost £38 billion last year. Giving away £100 million of this is the equivalent of someone earning £25,000 a year donating just £5.50 a month to charity, hardly something to brag about.
The final insult was Ms Knight’s line about how the banks also offer great “value for money”. I’ll try to remember that the next time I am charged £84 for going £9 over my overdraft limit.
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