a cosy collusive cartel

.

I hate the big australian banks

 

the weekend newspaper headlines

on our ' banks soaring profits' make

my blood boil at the greed that has

overtaken these institutions

 

This is what happens when 'new customers'

are more important than 'current customers',

and profit becomes the key driver in business.

New customers are offered interest free deals

and no transaction fees while old customers

pay 19% on credit cards and their accounts

are 'skimmed' with an ever increasing set of

devices, charges and fees while a deluge of

increasingly ridiculous ads tell us how good

they are....

 

so, in advance, sorry to take advantage

of this photo to have a moan, and please

dont feel that I expect anyone to have to

trudge their way through my ramblings

....its just my opinion but ....

 

I hate the way the banks have given up

their social responsibilities in their

lust for profit and growth

 

I hate the cosy collusive cartel they

enjoy and the way they abuse their

market position and their customers

 

I hate the fact that these important

institutions are unworthy of our respect

 

I hate that in times when restraint is

critical in the midst of the Global Financial

Crisis they refused to follow the Reserve

Bank on interest rates and actually increased

their overall margins and profits

 

I hate the fact they were succesful in bleating

for support from our government re the GFC

and while everyone else in australia suffered

and they slapped wage freezes on their staff

these banks were continuing to make the

'soaring' profits they are now reporting

 

I hate how clearly this proves just how much

these banks can get away with at our expense

 

I hate the fact that the Global Financial Crisis

was not a world wide problem with business,

just a world wide problem with greed driven

people who exploited, deceived, over extended,

and sold others short, and found themselves

exposed and unable to cover their own losses.

 

I hate the fact that CEO's earning $10m pa

are so arrogant naive and out of touch that

they can get way with saying their customers

will stay with them for superior customer

service, and the press dont make them pay

 

I hate that fact there is no accountability

at Director level for their incompetence

and that CEO's are not altruists but the

bone collectors relying on volume rather

than corporate talent, adept at scouring

the last cent from every source

 

I hate that Directors of Commonwealth

can lose half a billion or more in poor

decisions such as Storm Financial

and ABC learning centres and claw the

profit back from their customers

 

I hate a financial sector that are simply

parasites stripping money and capital

from the initiative, hard work and sweat

of australian business

 

I hate the fact that a bank that they exploit

credit card customers with close to 20%

interest charges while offering 2% for 12

months to woo customers to transfer their

credit card debts from other banks

 

I hate the fact that the Government is so naive

to prop them through hard times while their

senior staff draw million dollar bonuses

 

I hate the fact that the ACCC allow them to buy

any remotely potential competitior that moves

and so maintain their cosy quasi cartel

 

I hate the way they can lay off staff and

close branches and then open the same

branches in the name of service

 

I hate they charge for using ATM machines

while saving hundreds of millions on tellers

 

I hate the fact the CBA dumped all their

unprofitable school kid accounts and now,

seeing them as a gateway to new

business, expect they can simply walk

back in and exploit the schools knowing

that the sheer difficulty of changing accounts

will render most 'lifelong sources of income'

err customers...

 

I hate the way the banks abuse the privilege

of their position luring customers with low

competitive interest rates then jacking them

up to a non competitive rate at a later time

 

I hate the fact that customers cant have one

simple portable facility that incorporates their

own account numbers, loans, credit cards and

direct debits, and port this to another bank if they

are dissatisfied

 

.... I could go on for ever I guess, but I hate the fact

these banks and their directors put profit ahead of

their social responsibilities and exploit the very

customers whose money built and continues to

underpin the businesses they strut and crow over.

 

If you have made it to here,

thank you, I am not a victim,

just find that this situation

disturbs me greatly and I

wanted to say something

about it and get it off my chest

 

- We need more competition

- We need to own our account,

. card and Direct Debit numbers

. and loan accounts numbers too

. to make it easier to change banks

- We need a government prepared to act

- We need fully portable accounts

Done