BEWARE! THE BANKS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!

[Stanley]

The only time I carry cash is when I go into the town to shop at the local retailers. I use my card in the supermarket because in the absence of a bank in the town that's my source of cash, I never use the Hole in the Wall since it ate my card once. I don't trust the little buggers!

[plaques]

Today's ATM's are that sophisticated you need a degree in button pushing. Actually they are quite good but I always go inside the bank to do my transactions. You don't want shoulder surfers when you are old and frail.

[Stanley]

That's why I use the Co-op cash back service.....You're dealing with a human being who smiles at you!

[Stanley]

See THIS for news that the government is selling RBS shares at a loss. Much has been made of the small profit they made last year but they have a lot more cost to take out of the business and nothing is certain for the future. Expect more closures and job losses.

[Stanley]

I think this is as good a place as any for THIS BBC report of the National Audit Commission's view on the collapse of Carillion, how it happened and what the consequences are. It paints a dire picture of mismanagement by both the firm and the government. This is bad enough but remember that this type of outsourcing is still happening. I hope they have a better grip on it than in this case.....

[Tizer]

These big company failures are so mind-boggling that I think much of the population can't comprehend the immensity of it in terms of money, jobs, pensions etc.

[Stanley]

Never mind the general population. It boggles me as well! Take something like the timetabling fiasco on the railways at the moment, how much is that costing? The Lake District is completely cut off from the rail network at peak tourist season! Disasters seem to follow Grayling and yet it's never his fault........

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of the 'Which' report into bank closures. When does this farce stop? Are we seeing the end of any banks at all on the High Street?

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report that the use of debit cards has now replaced cash as a method of payment. I'm not sure if this is good or bad news......

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the merger of CYGB and Virgin Money to make the sixth largest bank in the UK. Lots of 'business speak' from the directors but the bald facts are that 1,500 jobs are to go and CYGB customers will be transferred to Virgin's digital banking. With TSB in mind, what could possibly go wrong?
Read THIS and ask yourself if a 30% failure rate in audits done on large firms by KPMG is acceptable. All the big four come in for criticism but KPMG is the worst of all. The failure of Carillion is focussing attention on the auditors and about time to!

[Tizer]

`KPMG's audit of collapsed drinks firm Conviviality faces probe' LINK
`The Financial Reporting Council is looking into into KPMG's audit of ex-Bargain Booze owner Conviviality, which went into administration in April. The watchdog is investigating the preparation of the company's financial statements for the year to April 2017. A KMPG spokesperson said it believed its audit was conducted correctly....
...The probe is the latest blow to KPMG, which was criticised by the accountancy watchdog last month for an "unacceptable deterioration" in the quality of its audits. The FRC said it would put KPMG under more scrutiny and would inspect 25% more of its audits in the 2018-19 financial year - the first time it had taken such action. In response, KPMG said it was "disappointed" and was taking steps to improve audit quality. Earlier in 2018, KPMG had been criticised over its audit of collapsed construction firm Carillion - in particular, failing to question its financial judgements. The auditor was also fined £3.2m last month by the watchdog over its audit of insurance firm Quindell.'

[Stanley]

Funny isn't it, these shenanigans have been going on for years but only now have the regulators taken notice..... Should someone be investigating them?

[Tizer]

This new book on Barclays was mentioned on the radio this morning: `The Bank That Lived a Little: Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market' by Philip Augar, July 2018. LINK

[Stanley]

I heard the review on R4 yesterday. I shall not be rushing out to buy it!

[Tizer]

`Banks told to reveal tech meltdown plans' LINK
UK banks have been told to explain how they would cope with a technology failure or cyber-attack. The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority have given financial firms three months to detail how they would respond if their systems failed. Some TSB customers were left unable to access online banking for more than a month following a botched systems upgrade in April. Banks could be ordered to take action if their plans are judged to be poor. The Bank of England and FCA have emphasised that senior management at banks will be held accountable for prolonged disruption to services.....

[Stanley]

The Bank of England and FCA have emphasised that senior management at banks will be held accountable for prolonged disruption to services..... And about time too! I saw a report recently that not all TSB customers are back online and many have switched banks..... I think back to Janet, she was flagging events like this up to me years ago and she put the blame squarely on bean counters 'saving money' and being backed up by senior staff. She worked in Risk Management for a merchant bank in the City at one time and saw it at first hand twenty years ago.

[Tizer]

...we also have Barclays freezing the accounts of some people who depend on day trading for their living. They've done nothing wrong - it's just a cock-up at the bank...

I wrote that back in September 2017. The problem expanded to affect lots of Barclays customers who used Barclays investment services to invest their money. The bank tried to shift them to - guess what - a new online platform but then customers could no longer get at their accounts. I heard the other day that there are still some who can't get at their investments. An example was a man who looks after the finances of his elderly parents and hasn't been able to get at their money for 6 months or more. It beggars belief.

By the way, Mrs Tiz is still waiting for the final payout on her father's funds. When she rang this week to ask why it still hadn't come through the bank said they are still waiting for the money he had in premium bonds. We can't get a proper explanation of why it all takes so long.

[Stanley]

I'm afraid the explanation is almost certainly the same as our problem with Janet's will, lack of staff. They started reducing staff numbers to save money on the wage bill as soon as they had a hint of computerisation. With hindsight they should have waited until the systems were proved to work efficiently. Another problem was that a lot of the initial entering of data into the programmes was done by cheap foreign labour for the same reason.

[Stanley]

Lots of important matters are not being reported as Brexit smothers everything but two things caught my attention. The first is that the government are to put back any action on cold calls on pension swaps (That'll please the sharks....). See THIS for the second. LIBOR hasn't gone away and the FCA is warning that the system is broken and in the absence of any bank action to install a better system the FCA/BofE will impose a solution by outlawing LIBOR.

[Stanley]

Very often really important matters are flagged up by small clouds on the horizon. THIS report on domestic savings to income ratio could be such a signal. Basically households are saving less money from their income. Not surprising really when real incomes are still falling despite what the government says about employment and wages. The bottom line that this is a clear signal that there may be no slack left in the domestic economy which has implications for everything from High Street shops to levels of debt. Worth keeping an eye on.

[Stanley]

Lots in PE this week about LIBOR. Evidence has come to light that was not disclosed in earlier trials and is being investigated. It points to the heads of the banks being aware of what was being done and even taking part. It wasn't just rogue traders. This is a pattern we are used to now, anything to protect the head men!

[Stanley]

Two items of financial news grabbed me. The markets are expecting a UK interest rise this week and Apple look to be very close to being the first company world wide to reach a stock market valuation of $1trillion. Discuss!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the fact that Apple are now officially worth over $1trillion (£767million). I don't know about you but this is too much power in one company, it worries me.....
More news also if you look for it about Amazon paying even less tax on their sales......

[plaques]

Listened to the reasons for the latest bank rate interest rise. The usual reasons were trotted out. More people working, wages rising, inflation rising, in fact everything in the garden is rosy. Blaa. Blaa .. Blaa. Then right at the end of the explanation.... It allows the Bank of England to drop rates if things went wrong in a couple of years. I ask you! What could possibly go wrong?

[Stanley]

One of the factors in this decision is that if rates are at rock bottom the Bank has no tools to manage the economy, they are only passengers. Raising rates slightly gives them a fig leaf that they are still in control.