Bankers Levy

It looks like Osborne is beginning to bow to public pressure; he says that the banks will have to pay a further £800 million this year on the special bank levy instead of the £1.7 billion that they expected to pay in 2011. It is thought that he is trying to make them toe the line over bonus’s, by saying if you are doing so well then you can afford to pay the full levy.

George, it is going to make no difference at all, why don’t you just introduce a special tax rate of 99% for banker’s bonus’s.

Phil

The banks need to be split up and customers money protected by a ring fenced pool of money paid into a central fund to protect savers interests and then let these investment and hedge funds gamble at will but if they fail and go bankrupt no more bailouts .
Bernie

Don't think it will make much difference. All the banks will say is that their present charges do not cover their costs (meaning , but not mentioned, their bonuses) and put bank charges up

Just had an e-mail from LLoyds asking if I want to join their money management scheme.
I do all my banking online and don't have paper statements and hardly ever go to my local branch.
So they are now going to tell me where and when I spent my money for the last 2 years and how I could be saving more, in other words stop using your card in pubs etc.,well they can take a running jump.

John

I'm with Barclays now, before anybody says anything I knoe its not a good choice, but its the only bank I haven't argued with the manager (sorry computer minder) of late. Though the amount of mail I keep getting from them begging me to have loans I will never understand. I can see it coming to a head shortly and I'll be changing banks again. I hate it when they think they can tell you how to organise your finances better than you can yourself.

Phil

I'm not quite sure why you so are surprised at the Banks going on and on about pushing loans and money management (that is giving your money to them rather than anyone else). Bank managers are not really any different from some little ponce standing outside a strip joint in Soho, trying to get you to waste your money and give it to them. Recent events show they have similar morals as well. Unfortunately there is, as yet, no law to put them where they belong

Even with this extra levy they will still be paying £1bn less than last year in tax
Bernie

I can remember when Bank Managers were gentlemen, our old manager when in business Barry was one of the best, I had many a drink with him. I remember he called me in to see him one day and I thought "well it can't be the overdraft as that's fine". We sat in his office, it was an office in those days not one of these silly open plan things. Anyway he said to me "Phil I've called you in to tell you I'm taking early retirement"

Concerned for his health I asked him if he was OK, he said his health was fine, it was because of the changing face of banking that he was getting out. He warned me that banking was going through a very serious change and he didn't want to be part of it. He said "Phil when the new manager takes over and if you come in here trying to raise finance for something you need for your business the odds are he will say no". If he checks you out on that thing in the corner "a Computer" and it says no, then thats it you don't get the finance.

He said Phil I have given you and Dave money in the past that far surpassed your tangible assets, and I have just entered in your records that although you didn't have the collateral to cover the amount loaned that I knew you and you were both hard working reliable lads and I knew the banks money was safe. He actually showed me the written report.

I'm afraid that Barry was right after he retired things changed drastically and we never raised finance at the bank again, although we were doing well apparently we were a bad risk, because we wouldn't put our houses up as collateral.

Phil