Banks are just as bad says Which? debate (From Wiltshire Business Online)

Banks are just as bad says Which? debate

5:00pm Monday 8th February 2010

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Eight in ten people (81%) don’t think that banks are changing for the better following the financial crisis, says Which?

This was just one of the revelations to come from the Which? Big Banking Debate, held in London last Thursday. The debate, which was attended by over 300 people, gave the public a unique opportunity to voice their views about the financial crisis and how banks can change for the better. Nearly three quarters (74%) of those asked said that banks should be broken up to create more competition. 96% said that banks act more in their own interests than that of consumers while almost half (47%) of those asked said that the best way to improve the banks overall would be to separate the retail and wholesale side of banks.

The findings will feed into The Future of Banking Commission, which will be holding its first evidence session tomorrow afternoon at the Riverbank Park Plaza near Westminster.

There will be two further sessions on Thursday 25th February and Thursday 18th March. Witnesses include Robert Peston, Mervyn King, Lord Myners and Lord Turner.

Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, said: “The fact that so many people will come out on a cold February evening in their free time to offer their views on how banks can change for the better shows the strength of feeling that is out there. “It’s wrong that, until now, the voice of the customer has been missing from the debate on how to bring much-needed reform to our banking system.

"The Future of Banking Commission was set up to right that wrong and help deliver a banking system that works well for everyone, not just bankers.”

David Davis MP, chair of the Future of Banking Commission said: “The debate was fantastic. We heard responsible, well-argued, erudite points of view. I came here thinking I knew the main issues we had to tackle on the Commission, I leave with a lot more to consider.”

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