Capitalism reformation .!

[BISHI]

Perhaps the first step in a better direction-
BBC News - Viewpoints: What should capitalism do?

 

[Deleted member 293381]

That was a good read and had refreshing viewpoints. Not sure about the authors but the BBC article 'hit the spot'.

I wonder if any of the points raised will come to fruition? Trouble is, business is about money, power and assets - the more the better.

 

[BISHI]

Carney concurs ..!

BBC News - Carney urges bankers to adopt 'high ethical standards'

 

[Deleted member 293381]

That'll be the day!

Board members and senior management at banks are only interested in business, finance, clients and related stuff.

The only time ethics might be touched upon is in sales pitches, adverts and glossy brochures.

 

[BISHI]

One can but hope.

 

[kav]

That'll be the day!

Board members and senior management at banks are only interested in business, finance, clients and related stuff.

The only time ethics might be touched upon is in sales pitches, adverts and glossy brochures.

What do you base this on?

 

[Deleted member 293381]

What do you base this on?

About 45 years of dealings and experience. It's a personal viewpoint.

Why do you ask - do you have a different viewpoint?

 

[kav]

About 45 years of dealings and experience. It's a personal viewpoint.

Why do you ask - do you have a different viewpoint?

Yes. Banks are keenly aware of how they are perceived nowadays and the level of cultural change over the last couple of years is like nothing I have seen before. In my place values and ethics are now front and centre for every employee from lowly analyst up to MD, and the message from the top is if you don't like it, leave, because you don't belong here if you don't support this. They've demonstrated that by getting rid of a huge number of senior personnel, basically anyone who supported the old ways of doing business.

No doubt it will take time for that to filter into the public consciousness but I can assure you it is happening from within and the ramifications are immense in terms of how they do business.

 

[Deleted member 293381]

Is that yet more banking PR, or can I believe it with a touch of scepticism?

 

[kav]

Is that yet more banking PR, or can I believe it with a touch of scepticism?

I don't do PR, I can only tell you what I am experiencing. There is absolutely no ambiguity about it, you either buy into the CEO/Board's vision for the firm or you are out, no middle ground. Consequently there has been a sea change in how all areas of the bank have worked, with old rivalries across functions now gone and a far more collaborative culture in place. There is an expectation that you should be able to hold your head up and justify any decision you make as being made with integrity, and if you can't honestly do that then it's not the right decision to make. Also if a short term decision with positive results has negative longer-term repercussions, it is the wrong decision for the firm to make.

Among other things, how you represent yourself in the community is now actually measured in your annual performance - that applies to everyone. The mandate is that every individual must leave things in a better state than they found them - even if by tiny increments.

How successful it will be, I can't say. What I can tell you is that it's a message that's being delivered with utter conviction and has resulted in significant changes (for the better) over the last 18 months or so.

 

[BISHI]

It would be expedient to be seen to be doing something - I really don't see how the consumer can vote with their feet as banking is a core aspect of modern life. Trust might be at an all time low but the public have little choice but to continue using banks.
Who are the banks trying to appease - the general public or the governments who represent them.?
PR or a sudden flourishing of conscience and responsibility.?

 

[loz]

I am currently reading Jeremy Rifkin's recent book, The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism which has an interesting take on the future of capitalism

 

[johntheexpat]

It wouldn't actually take much to appease public sentiment. The three areas that Joe Public seem to really care about are Bonuses, tax avoidance (and aiding and abetting tax avoidance) and criminal behaviour.

Criminal behaviour (like LIBOR rate fixing, etc) must never again be tolerated. And yes, I do believe it was tolerated previously with a blind eye being turned while a profit was made.

Bonuses, we are told, are essential to the way the business is run, but we don't have to have our noses rubbed in 7 figure bonuses when bank performances overall are only "adequate", especially when the tax payers are significant owners of some of the guilty banks.

As for tax avoidance and promoting tax avoidance for clients, while it is technically legal, it should be promoted as anti-social and left to the firms that people are happy to think of as less scrupulous. Anti social because the government which sets tax rates was elected by the people for the people to represent the people. To see what is deemed a fair rate of tax being wilfully avoided goes against the will of the people. Or at least the majority of the people and democracy still rules, last time I looked.

 

[kav]

It would be expedient to be seen to be doing something - I really don't see how the consumer can vote with their feet as banking is a core aspect of modern life. Trust might be at an all time low but the public have little choice but to continue using banks.
Who are the banks trying to appease - the general public or the governments who represent them.?
PR or a sudden flourishing of conscience and responsibility.?

Appeasing government: in as much as they represent the will of the people. The message is that we must be seen as open and honest in our dealings and compliant with all regulation and any additional scrutiny placed on us due to public mistrust.

People: the core objective of all of it is to restore the trust of clients, customers and the general public in the institution. While PR is part and parcel of this, I don't think for a moment it's the primary motivator. In fact internally the amount of work done by staff in the community (not just recently, this has always gone on, but with even more support of late) has led to questions raised to management: why don't we advertise this? Management responded to say it is a conscious decision not to publicise all the things that employees are doing because given the precarious position banks are in, it would be seen as opportunistic instead of genuine. So people carry on doing what they do, regardless of whether or not it gets mentioned in the media.

I fully expect certain people to view my comments with utmost cynicism, frankly that's par for the course and I am used to that point of view. All I can say is that having worked in this kind of environment for ~15 years, I have never seen as much change as I have in the last 18 months, nor as many senior executives get a very abrupt chop for not supporting this approach. They've made it clear they aren't messing about when it comes to this - how well that trickles down into the public view of things remains to be seen.

 

[BISHI]

Well I certainly hope you are right .

 

[BISHI]

I am currently reading Jeremy Rifkin's recent book, The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism which has an interesting take on the future of capitalism

Might you offer a short précis .?

 

[loz]

Might you offer a short précis .?

Well I only recently started reading.

But this article is what drew me to the book in the first place and that gives a reasonable precis - The End of the Capitalist Era, and What Comes Next | Jeremy Rifkin

 

[BISHI]

You might want to check this out too-
Capital in the Twenty-First Century:Amazon.co.uk:Books

Causing quite a buzz amongst economist circles apparently.
Gonna read this over the summer if I can get it in paperback .

 

[Deleted member 293381]

Not so long ago it was difficult to complain to banks about their service because the arrogance was so great they could get away with being quite rude if you dared to complain.

I've noticed that since new rules came out which made it easier to switch accounts from one bank to another the bank personnel seem more open and friendly. They have also dropped the in-ya-face selling techniques of house, car and personal insurance: "Are you fully covered?" and "Can I interest you in..." etc.

However, that is on the ground. At the top end, the banking CEOs and senior board members are IMO overpaid and, on top of that, receive massive bonuses. So there is still a long way to go before the public stop viewing them as greedy people and instead view them as responsible and honest.

 

[loz]

I've noticed that since new rules came out which made it easier to switch accounts from one bank to another the bank personnel seem more open and friendly. They have also dropped the in-ya-face selling techniques of house, car and personal insurance: "Are you fully covered?" and "Can I interest you in..." etc.

I doubt they will return to what they did in my case, phoning me up suggesting I "invest" my overdraft.

 

[Deleted member 293381]

Apparently, when the new faster switching rules were introduced something like 600,000 account holders ditched their old long-term banks for better deals elsewhere.

No wonder the big banks are cleaning up their act.

 

[kav]

Apparently, when the new faster switching rules were introduced something like 600,000 account holders ditched their old long-term banks for better deals elsewhere.

No wonder the big banks are cleaning up their act.

I could tell you some horror stories about getting multiple decades-old systems to talk to one another to make that happen...

 

[Deleted member 293381]

I could tell you some horror stories about getting multiple decades-old systems to talk to one another to make that happen...

I could tell you some horror comments about the banking system passing between customers as they wait, standing forever in line, to be served.

Some big banks are shedding front-line staff by the thousand which is causing long customer queues because very few counters are open due to lack of staff.

 

[Ed Selley]

I could tell you some horror comments about the banking system passing between customers as they wait, standing forever in line, to be served.

Some big banks are shedding front-line staff by the thousand which is causing long customer queues because very few counters are open due to lack of staff.

This is a generational thing though. There's literally no aspect of my accounts I can't attend to using my bank's excellent online software. Everyone I know up to and including my mother (64) is using online banking and the idea of making a dedicated journey to the bank is an anathema. If your response is "but what if you have a problem?" I'd counter that online management of accounts tends to let you see issues before they become problems and attend to them either in settings or on the phone.

 

[Deleted member 293381]

What on earth has on-line banking got to do with high street banks and the recent shedding of front-line staff?

If on-line banking played a part then the shedding of bank staff would have happened years ago!

It also might be an idea not to put words in my mouth - please don't let your imagination take over.