Why Milliband’s Bank Plan Won’t Work
Ed Milliband’s plan to cut the Big Banks down to size described here, may be admirable, but it won’t work!
In fact I have a feeling that in a couple of years, it won’t be needed as the Big Banks will be a shadow of their former self.
Take myself, who is increasingly becoming a type of person common in this country.
I only use my bank account for one main purpose and that is to accept and receive money transfers and manage regular payments. They do provide me with a credit card, but it is not one I use daily.
My savings are stored in a separate account, which happens to be a peer-to-peer-lender, but could be a Savings Account anywhere. But more of us, are using innovative ways to keep our savings and this will increase.
I never write cheques and only ever go into a bank branch to use a cash machine, if I want to sit down to organise my money after withdrawing it.
I don’t know what percentage of the population are like me, who effectively use the bank as a money transfer company and possibly an overdraft source, whilst waiting for a payment to clear.
But it must be quite a high figure these days!
We don’t need banks at all and it is a market that people will target in an innovative way. Certainly, if a company, can give me a much better computer system for on-line banking, I’d join them like a shot.
But then banks and innovation are two words that rarely go together!
On the whole I suspect this group of customers, are probably pretty sanguine about banking and in most cases wouldn’t want the hassle of moving. I sometimes think about moving from Nationwide, but what I want is a better computer and support system and how do I find out if it’s what I want? With very great difficulty I suspect!
So Milliband’s banker bashing doesn’t impress, as we probably feel that any new bank would be more of the same grey product.
And anyway, I choose my bank, not politicians.
But a better innovative on-line bank, with a proper computer system, programmed in the UK, supported totally by the Internet and a UK call centre, with no branch premises will come.
Done properly, I’d transfer my business to it and I suspect many others would.
The other thing that would shoot Milliband’s fox, is if regulators made it possible to transfer our bank account overnight or at least in a couple of days, keeping the same account number.
One of the troubles about the next election, is that many of the people who vote will be up to their neck in Wonga and other loans and are the sort of people, a decent bank wouldn’t touch.
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The Anonymous Widower 
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