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The consumer watchdog agency, “Which?”, has announced the launch of a new, major campaign calling for banking reform in the UK. The campaign, called “Big Change” reveals some startling statistics about the banking industry and promotes a three-pronged solution. It’s an admirable campaign. There’s only one problem: It won’t work. The Banks will refuse to make change.
Don’t get me wrong. They will humbly bow and acquiesce to any kind of superficial changes that appear to comply with any new regulation or any new practice that will make them appear to be more customer-friendly.
The Research
“Which?” research reveals that “banking is one the least trusted professions.” Really? Who would have thunk it? The trust level in bankers scored just under slum-lords, pickpockets, and Jack the Ripper.
- Only 10% of the people surveyed said they trust bankers to act in their best interest. It is possible, given the ambiguity of the question, that the 10% thought that “their” referred to the bankers and not to themselves.
- Only 6% (that’s not a typo) said that they associate bankers with ethical behaviour. Did they mean like bacteria are associated with penicillin?
- Two thirds of those surveyed think that bankers are unlikely to lose their jobs if they fail to comply with standards of conduct, lie, or cheat, deliver consistently poor service, or receive a high number of complaints. Wonder where they got that idea from?
Big Change
The Big Change that “Which?” is calling for is a) putting customers first by paying bonuses that prioritise customer service above sales, b) creating a professional standards body that will require bankers to be certified and to comply with ethical behavior regulations, and c) punishment and stronger sanctions up to the board level when they have presided over corrupt practices.
That concept worked really well with the Ten Commandments, and God is in charge of those. Does “Which?” really think these ideas will actually change things? God will eventually set things straight with the Ten Commandments, but there is not a body or person in the UK that can bring about and maintain effective change in the banking sector.
Banks Will Not Change
I recently used the term “corrupt bankers” in a conversation, only to be corrected by a grammarian who said that the phrase is redundant. Apparently 94% of the people surveyed agree. “Which?” will stir up a bunch of hullabaloo, Brits watching football in their recliners will describe bankers with derision, and the government will create more jobs (at the expense of the tax payer) to govern banks who can’t govern themselves. The whole system is corrupt. Even if it is modified, corrected, or otherwise changed, it will become corrupt in different ways. That is the way things work.
Someone asked the CEO of a large manufacturing firm, “What do you make at your company?” He replied, “Money. Or else we wouldn’t be there.” The emphasis will never really change to customer service, because that is not the banks’ purpose. Their purpose is to make money. The bankers’ purpose is to make more money, for the banks and for themselves. If that weren’t their purpose, they would take a job on an assembly line.
If you really want to have a laugh, read the headline in today’s Finance Markets. It reads, “Which? Calls for Big Change to bank culture.” Then go back six months to the March 26th issue. That headline reads, “Bank of England calls for culture change in banking.” Six months; no change. Six months from now will be no different. The powers that be have things the way they want them to be. Once a few scapegoats are selected, things will go back to the way they have been. The only real change will be in the marketing campaigns designed to emphasize customer service.
I’d like to recommend a Big Change. I recommend that “Which?” change its name to something that makes sense, like “Watch Out”. That will accomplish more than their proposed “Big Change.” And it will confuse my grammar and spell check a whole lot less.
