Move Your Money UK blog

Bill Oddie takes on HSBC – and we like it

2013-05-18T14:48:00+00:00

Bill Oddie's Bankwatch: An observational naturalist documentary deep in the ‘territory’ of those ‘creatures closely related to man, yet subtly and very meaningfully different’.

With its wonderfully gratuitous toilet humour, Bollinger clichés and direct measurement of a frontal lobe unable to comprehend ‘consequences’, this is a truly unparalleled character assassination of the HSBC banker.

It’s fair to say that Bill is really going for it. And that’s quite refreshing.

Often in campaigning we’re just a bit too nice (‘Bankers are people too, you know…’, etc.) We hold our tongues, we try and be reasonable, we don’t want to be accused of unfair stereotyping and ‘banker bashing’.

It's therefore quite enjoyable to see that Bill Oddie and supporting campaign group Global Witness haven’t gone in for any of this hand-wringing or angst-ing over the most PC way to expose the freshest scandal at the dark heart of our banking system. They’ve decided that the Malaysian rainforest is more important, and that HSBC deserve full derision for making money out of its destruction, in direct disregard of their own policies, and buried behind a dung heap of sinister ‘pro-green’ messaging. Good on 'em!

In the week our carbon emissions hit the 400 parts per million mark – a significant and alarming marker on our train ride (express, please) to climate disaster – this is all the more important.

If you want to take action, the first thing you can do is to sign the petition on the 38 Degrees site calling for change.

And of course, if you really want to have an impact, especially if you are an HSBC customer, you can move your money somewhere better.

This is by no means the first significant scandal HSBC has been involved in: only last summer they were caught laundering money to terrorists and drug cartels, and there are more nasty facts about them here.

If bank customers decide that this is the final straw, and vote with their feet by leaving HSBC once and for all and joining better banks, then not only will we strengthen the call for change, but we will have the opportunity to be part of building a better banking system – one that supports the economy, the environment… and that understands abstract concepts like ‘consequences’!

If your money is sitting in HSBC, it may well be fuelling irreversible environmental destruction.

Think about that for a second. And then do something about it. For Bill.

The Co-operative Bank – what’s the situation?

2013-05-15T11:18:00+00:00

The Co-operative Bank’s repeated presence in recent headlines has provided some cause for concern. First the bank’s credit rating was downgraded by ratings agency Moody’s; then its chief executive, Barry Tootell, stepped down; and then it emerged that the bank may have a capital shortfall of between £800m and £1.8bn, which it intends to make up by selling off other parts of the Co-operative Group’s business. This shortfall is largely due to loans acquired during the bank’s acquisition of Britannia Building Society in 2009 which subsequently went bad.

This latter piece of news is certainly disappointing, especially as the UK government is looking to promote challenger banks to the Big Five. The Co-operative clearly took a risk in taking over Britannia at the height of the financial crisis – much as RBS did with their acquisition of ABN Amro – and the key decision-makers should have been much more circumspect and examined the books more closely. Questions should also be asked of JP Morgan and Citi Group, who advised the Co-op on the deal.

Of course, there is no need for members of the Co-operative Bank to worry about losing their money, as deposits up to a value of £85,000 are guaranteed by the government. (This article answers other questions that customers might have.)

Moreover, none of these events change the core reasons for which Move Your Money have always included the Co-op in our list of recommended banks: its mutual status; its lack of involvement with the financial crash or the Libor scandal; and its ethical investment screening policy, which we believe remains an important example for other banks to follow.

What all of this does highlight, however, is that bigger is not always better, and is often not safer. We know this from the many problems that are associated with being ‘too big to fail’ (or, indeed, too big to manage), and now we are reminded of the dangers of banks seeking to grow by acquisition instead of pursuing sustainable growth. Britain’s banks would do well to take a ‘back to basics’ approach, focusing on delivering a reliable and consistent service to individual savers and businesses and avoiding risky tactics. This is something that building societies and credit unions, in particular, are already doing well, and have been for many years. We strongly encourage customers to support these smaller institutions wherever possible. For more information on all of the alternatives available, see our Where Can I Move page.

It would be bitterly disappointing if the Co-operative bank were to abandon its prominent position as an alternative to the Big Five banks. Instead, the Co-op should recognise the strong demand for ethical finance and reward the loyalty of its growing customer base, by returning to a prudent and sustainable model of organic growth.

Co-op pulls out of buying Lloyds branches

2013-04-24T11:00:00+00:00

Today the Co-operative bank announced today that it has pulled out of a proposed deal to buy 631 branches off Lloyds Banking Group.

The so-called "Verde Transaction" would have increased the Co-operative bank's share of the current account market to 7%, creating a significant challenger bank presence on the high street.

Although the news is a blow to increasing banking competition on the high street, it had originally been feared that the Co-op would be leaving the banking sector altogether. These rumours turned out to be ungrounded, and have since been strongly denied by the Co-operative Group.

Instead of large-scale leveraged acquisitions, the bank will continue to pursue organic growth by convincing customers to switch their accounts over to the Co-op. Last year this approach saw the amount of people switching to the Co-op Bank grow by 8%.

But the key point of this development is the implications it has on banking competition, and the impact it will have on the ethical finance sector. Increased competition isn't just about having more banks, it's about having different types of banks as well.

The financial crisis was due to banks like HBOS becoming too big to fail without knowing the risks of the businesses they were buying. The Co-op Bank should be applauded for refusing to do the same thing, and will emerge stronger in the long run as a result.

We've seen huge demand and strong growth in the ethical finance sector over the last twelve months, and this will only increase when switching is made easier in September. Some research is suggesting that up to 14 million people may switch after the rules change. With more people switching than ever, this year could still be one of fantastic growth for ethical finance, despite today's announcement from the Co-op.

Instead of conglomerated behemoths, Britain needs more local, mutual and ethical financial institutions. By avoiding HBOS-style acquisitions Co-op is staying true to its ethics, whilst also pursuing growth in a prudent and sensible way.

But if the government is serious about increasing competition it should take the bull by the horns and support local, ethical and mutual financial institutions. It's essential that these branches now go to organisations that will put customers first and lend to the real economy, rather than being hoovered up by Britain's broken big 5 banks like they were before.

Council petitions in Haringey, Wakefield, Bristol and Lambeth

2013-04-19T08:03:00+00:00

This month, Barclays launched an aggressive campaign by Barclays bank to snatch lucrative local government banking contracts. Where your council keeps its money matters – after all, your local authority will be banking millions in your tax money.
Petitions have been launched by Move Your Money supporters in Haringey, Wakefield, Bristol and Lambeth – if you live in one of these boroughs, get signing. If you’d like to start a campaign in your borough, get in touch.

When Haringey decided to move its £330k contract to Barclays, local resident Harriet Bird was not impressed: "This is a really short-sighted move by the Council. Barclays are actively pursuing council cash as they know this where easy money can be made. Yet they are one of the banks that have mis-sold financial products to residents and local businesses (PPI and Interest-Rate swaps), hidden money in tax-havens so people can avoid tax and have been fined for manipulating interest rates in the UK through Libor."

The move is based on price and not service, and no consultation with residents was undertaken. Barclays did not score in the top two highest bidders for quality of service.

Jody Gabriel began a petition to Wakefield Council when it emerged the Council were considering moving from the Cooperative Bank to Barclays – in a move confirming Barclays aggressive local authority banking power-play. Jody said: “Wakefield Council are showing complete disregard for the weight of public outrage following the recent libor scandal, PPI mis-selling, and the ongoing excessive bonus culture at Barclays - giving huge rewards for public failure at the bank.”

The council petitions run for 12 months, and Move Your Money intend to meet with the Councils asap to discuss the move, and clearly communicate why supporting Barclays with Government contracts is such a disaster for tax payers.

Move Your Money will be launching a national campaign to promote local authority ethical banking in July – watch this space.

New volunteer opportunities at Move Your Money!

2013-04-17T09:55:00+00:00

Move Your Money is a new, dynamic and exciting campaign that encourages people to move their money from the big 5 banks. We are the only call to action that aims to build an effective public response to the economic crisis.

We have big plans but a small budget. But we know if we can get the right people around our table we can make great things happen and change Banking in Britain forever. So we are looking for people who are looking for a bit of a risk and like a challenge to help us get what we need done. We need your time to help us deliver a national campaign that packs a punch - we have our eyes on making the most of the changes in bank switching in September.

Have a look at the roles below. Could you help? Your skills not there ... contact us anyway. We can find a role for you and in return we can offer an amazing experience for someone who wants to take a lead in developing the campaign and innovating along the way. We have an office in Soho but you can be based anywhere in the country, even in your own home. We can pay reasonable travel and lunch expenses.

You can apply for all the roles by emailing your CV (or linked in link) and covering email to jobs@moveyourmoney.org.uk. Deadline 7th May 2013. We can't cope with lots of calls but do send any questions to that email address too and we will do our best to get back to you.

Communications Officer
Unpaid - reasonable expenses

We are looking for a dynamic and creative volunteer on a 3-month placement who is proactive and not afraid to hit the phones to get Move your Money a good story. The volunteer will gain experience of working on high-profile news stories, planning the communications aspects of campaigns and working with an experienced media professional.

Full Time - 3-Month Placement

Job Description:
- day-to-day social media management and development
- overseeing the development of the new website and content management
- designing and implementing a supporter communications plan
- pro-active and re-active media activity, including managing the communications grid, drafting press releases and liaising with the media
- writing and commissioning articles and blog postings
- day-to-day media monitoring
- managing other volunteers working on communications

Website project manager:
Immediate - September
Unpaid - reasonable expenses

2+ days a week increasing closer to launch date in August We are looking for a creative and dynamic project manager to help us with the build of a dynamic new public-facing website that will be the key to a massive MyM campaign later this year. Working with our designers and other team members, you will ensure that our content is commissioned and ready, help us build a platform for an online community and help us monitor and evaluate the success of our site. There will be interesting opportunities to investigate and implement a values-based customer journey for visitors to our site and even look at how we improve our revenue stream through online donations.

Crowdfunding project manager:
Immediate - End of August
Unpaid - Reasonable expenses
1-2 days per week

We will be running a crowdfunding campaign in the summer with an innivotive investment platform. Ever wondered what makes a good campaign? Then learn on the job. We need you to help maximise the impact of the campaign and ensure we raise as much as possible. You won't be stuck in the office, you will liaise with the crowdfunding provider, work with the media and communications team and talk to our partners.

Blog Manager
1/2 a day a week
Unpaid - reasonable expenses

We are looking for someone keen to help us develop our comment and analysis through the blog on our website. Through commissioning articles from MyM supporters as well as external partners we want to create a dynamic blog space that adds to the debate about the future of banking. You will be interested in the current debate and help seek out knowledgeable, credible and interesting bloggers to help us develop the campaign message.

If you're interested in any of the roles above, have any questions, or want to find out, email us at jobs@moveyourmoney.org.uk

Got a skill and need work experience? Join the MYM skills circles!

2013-04-17T09:45:00+00:00

Got a skill and a bit of time? Then join our circles ....

Social Media Circle

Are you looking to grow your experience of social media and how it can be used to drive community-focused campaigns?

We are looking for volunteers to help us run our social media activity. Working with others on a rota system you will take responsibility for a day or two of our social media output (this can be managed alongside a day job before work and in the lunch hours) and help us develop and grow our reach.

Copywriting Circle

MyM needs content, for our own website and for other online and print publications. We are looking for copywriters to help us with a number of projects including our website redesign, local authority campaign, case study development and general writing. If you want to hone your copywriting and journalistic skills, we can help give you some meaningful experience. The time commitment will vary by project. Feel free to get in touch and discuss with us what you are interested in doing.

Creative Circle

Imagery is important to MyM a good graphic can go viral or get us in the newspapers. We need skilled people to help us on an ad-hoc basis to give life to our stories, create interesting imagery for our social media campaigns and website. If you want to see your creative output used then get in touch and join our creative circle. We will stick out regular requests and if you can help you can volunteer. The time commitment will vary by project. Feel free to get in touch and discuss with us what you are interested in doing.

Interested in any of these roles? Then get in touch, by emailing us at jobs@moveyourmoney.org.uk!

MYM Poll shows the depth of public demand for better banking

2013-04-16T11:25:00+00:00

Zoe Tyndall explains what our recent poll about the Post Office's proposed current account says about public demand for better banking.

Following last week’s announcement from the Post Office that they are to launch a new current account, Move Your Money conducted an online poll of supporters to explore opinions on the subject. At this point, I’d normally recommend that you stop reading – campaign groups’ online “polls” are normally pointless exercises, which push leading questions on to small, self-selecting groups to find North Korean levels of support for whatever cause happens to be being championed.

Such polls often inadvertently cause problems for campaign groups, as they serve to show how dissimilar their supporters are from the public at large.

However, for Move Your Money the opposite has been shown to be true – of the (admittedly small sample of) 151 respondents, who answered the online poll, attitudes towards banking and trust in banking have been shown to be broadly in line with public opinion across the UK.

The results of this poll say something interesting about what customers are looking for in banks, and what citizens are looking for in the UK banking sector, but they also say something more about the breadth of support which the Move Your Money campaign message enjoys.

When asked what features the new Post Office current account should offer, the most frequently selected options, are the “hygiene factors” – those elements that are the basic requirements of any current account: access to the ATM network free of charge, offering a debit card, and being accepted by all shops and online retailers.

After these, come two elements of a current account which probably read to most like they should be hygiene factors – so basic a requirement that a bank shouldn't have to promise them: “open and transparent account costs and charges” and “good customer service”, both selected by over 90% of respondents.

In November 2012, YouGov conducted a 2000 nationally representative sample online, asking what banks have to do to build trust amongst customers. Echoing the Move Your Money poll, the top answer came out as “behaving fairly and transparently with customers” (62%), with 45% also saying “only selling me the things I need”.

As the widespread culture of mis-selling amongst Britain’s major banks becomes clear, from PPI being pushed from every high street branch and call centre, to Libor rigging in the city, citizens are seeing ever more clearly the links between a broken banking sector which doesn't work for Britain, and broken banks which don’t work for customers.

Against the backdrop of 60% saying they don’t trust high street banks to look after their money (YouGov, 2012), it is no wonder that trusted brands such as the Post Office are entering a market full of customers who are looking to move their money and bank on something better.

Needed - Campaigning Communicator with bite and ambition!

2013-04-12T16:58:00+00:00

Move Your Money is a new, dynamic and exciting campaign that encourages people to move their money from the big 5 banks. We are the only call to action that aims to build an effective public response to the economic crisis.

As a result, we have a big workload when it comes to responsive media, as well as huge potential for great media stories that can hit the headlines. We are a small team with keen volunteers, and are in need of a creative and energetic media manager to work with us on developing our profile, getting our stories right, and exploiting the popularity of the campaign. We have a tight budget but can afford to pay someone part-time or part-pay/part pro-bono who wants to work with our team over the next 6 months and make big news happen. A crowdfunding campaign in the summer will help us raise further funds for towards this work.

In return we can offer an amazing experience for someone who wants to lead a strong and popular message, whilst building experience at the highest level in media engagement. You will help us develop a month of activity in September that will be the biggest yet for Move your Money, including some major proactive press pieces. The start is immediate and we can guarantee work until the end of September.

We are looking for someone:

- With knowledge of the role of media in an overall campaign
- Who can think creatively about presenting our story and helping us create visual news stories
- That has the experience and confidence to hit the phones and develop links with key national print and broadcast journalists
- Experience in campaigning a plus but not essential

Please apply with a brief CV or linkedin profile link containing your experience and expected remuneration and covering email to laura@moveyourmoney.org.uk by April 26th - email or phone 07968708703 if you want a brief chat to find our more

What do you want from a Post Office current account?

2013-04-11T20:41:00+00:00

Our new poll suggests that the Post Office's new current account service could challenge the dominant position of the big 5 UK banks on the high street.

Over 80% of respondents to the poll said they would consider switching to the Post Office if it offered a current account with full banking facilities, whilst over 78% of respondents said that they would trust the Post Office as a provider of financial services.

When asked what features the Post Office should include in its current accounts, respondents focused on having access to their money and the ability to use it without restrictions, with the top three features being mentioned by over 90% of respondents.

These were access to the full ATM network free of charge, a debit card coming with the account, and for payments to be accepted in all shops and retailers. Transparent costs and charges associated with the account and quality online banking also scored highly.

Responding to the poll, Laura Willoughby MBE, Chief Executive of the Move Your Money, said:
"These results show that the public want full and fair access to banking services in the UK. The Post Office must heed these results by offering accounts with the full range of features, not just basic accounts that exclude the most vulnerable from everyday banking facilities. Consumers want real choice and quality service from a name that they can trust. If the Post Office get this right they can challenge our bloated high street banks, but only if they offer accounts that people can actually use properly."

The move from the Post Office, announced on Thursday morning, comes at a time when exclusion from financial services is higher than ever. This year the Co-op bank withdrew some of its basic accounts for those in financial difficulty, claiming that it could not maintain these accounts whilst other banks refused to do so.

Of those consumers who do not currently hold a current account, over a third state that they do not have access to a current account provider.

At the same time, changes to the benefit system now means that recipients are required to have day-to-day access to a bank account.

Laura Willoughby added:

"With the government's overhaul of the benefits system, where people will be receiving a single monthly payment, it is more vital than ever that everyone, no matter what their income or credit rating, has access to a bank account that actually meets their needs."

Meanwhile, banks are gearing up for changes in the rules that will make it easier to switch accounts. From September, banks will be required to transfer a customer's bank account within 7 days of a request to do so. Research from YouGov suggests that up to 14 million people may be more likely to move once the new rules come in.

The new service from the Post Office looks set to be welcomed by consumers. Tracy Elwin from Hunstanton said:

“A simple account with a debit card would be great! I asked about an account with them before, but until now they didn’t have what I needed.

“I didn’t want anything fancy or complicated. I’m a stay at home mum who is not earning, so I don’t want to be sold a credit card, a loan, or anything else.

“My local bank branch doesn’t open until 9:30 and is closed on Saturday, so it’s not always as convenient as I need it to be. Hopefully the Post Office will be different.”

Guest blog: Co-op's own PPI controversy

2013-04-09T09:00:00+00:00

Julia Kukiewicz from consumer site choose.net discusses the implications of Co-op's fine for delaying PPI repayments

Earlier this year, the usually squeaky clean Co-operative Bank got a slap on the wrist, and a £113,300 fine, for its poor handling of payment protection insurance (PPI) cases.

The FSA found that Co-op let cases sit on their books despite being specifically told to resolve them. 100% of the compensation cases could have gone ahead, the regulator said.

"Our strong reputation within the banking sector has been built upon doing the right thing by our customers,” a Co-operative Bank spokesperson said, adding that, “in this instance our procedures have fallen short of the high standards rightly expected of us.”

But how far have Co-op fallen short? Enough to worry you, their current or potential customers?

Need to know

First, the good news.

This is the first time Co-op have ever been fined by the FSA and both parties agree that no consumers suffered any specific financial detriment from their actions, just a delay in their claims.

The delay occurred during the judicial review of PPI compensation in early 2011 – despite the fact that these cases wouldn’t have been affected by the court’s decision - so there’s also a possibility that Co-op’s will just be the first of many fines for delaying action during that period.

Though any part isn’t exactly honourable, Co-op hold no particular distinction in the industry wide sport of mis-selling PPI.

They’ve set aside £90 million to compensate mis-sold customers, a small proportion of the £13 billion all the banks have set by, even considering the size disparity between Co-op and their competitors. Lloyds, for example, has set aside £5.3 billion to cover its mis-selling liabilities.

On the other hand, this fine is deeply disappointing for those that see Co-op as a real alternative to the big banks.

By using these cynical delaying tactics they showed a contempt for current and former customers who deserved their money back.

This lack of remorse on PPI isn’t unusual: just a few weeks ago, ex-Lloyds chief risk officer Carol Sergeant told a Government commission that mis-selling occurred because of a misunderstanding of the rules.

Co-op has seemed at times to buck that trend - Chief executive Peter Marks said in August that, “If we could turn the clock back we would have done it. We are not perfect.” – but, at some point, words and action didn’t match up.

Reality check

The primary reasons that Co-op are listed on Move Your Money – their ethical investment policy and their excellent reputation for customer service – haven’t changed. Indeed, these aspects have even been strengthened in recent weeks with the Co-operative group announcing its latest ethical policies.

But the truth is that, while Co-op’s social and ethical impact might differ from the big banks, they are still on the high street, swimming in the same water.

The bank’s recent backtrack on basic current accounts – they’re no longer offered to bankrupts – was a case in point.

Co-op argued that offering the accounts to undischarged bankrupts meant that they had to serve a disproportionately large and risky sector of the basic account market.

Other banks need to step up and take some of the strain, they said. But for as long as they keep operating alongside our broken banks, expect Co-op to have to keep making hard, sometimes controversial decisions like these.

Transitioning finance and the role of technology

2013-03-25T09:00:00+00:00

Since the start of the financial crisis, interest in alternative financial institutions and models has exploded.

In part this is motivated by anger at the big banks for their role in causing the crash. Often this anger is exacerbated by the intransigence of the banks’ executives and investment banking staff, who continue to cream off astronomical pay even when their employers are mired in scandal or their profits are non-existent. In the face of gross mis-selling, rigging of key interest rates, and huge public bail-outs from the public, business as usual is no longer an option.

But the other reason for the rise of interest in alternative finance is that people feel more empowered to enact change themselves. Whilst politicians refuse to innovate and instead cling to failed economic models and policies, voting with your feet becomes an increasingly viable response.

That’s why we’ve launched our new Switch & Tell campaign at Move Your Money, where we encourage people to switch who they bank with, and tell their MP why. We hope to harness the power of online and social media to build momentum around the Banking Reform Bill, to pressure MPs to enact real and fundamental change in the UK banking sector.

By switching your bank to a more ethical provider, you can send a powerful message about the kind of financial system that you want to support – and the kind that you don’t. But switching banks is more than just a protest, because in doing so you are helping to diversify the UK financial sector, which is one of most important things we can do to protect ourselves from another financial crisis.

Online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have made the world a more interconnected and communicative place, making it easier to spread information and pressure policy makers to enact reform. This opens the political process to people who might not engage in more traditional ways, and allows the voices of real people to be heard in the banking reform debate.

Using these online platforms to press for political change is one example of how emergent technologies can help to shape society for the future. But banking and finance are providing their own notable examples of the power of technology to help enact change, such as peer-to-peer and crowd-funding platforms.

The huge growth in the popularity of these platforms shows that people are more willing than ever to take personal responsibility for their own wealth investment. But more than this, it also shows that people feel increasingly empowered and confident enough to do so.

The move away from the big banks has been enacted not only through emergent technologies, but also with more traditional financial institutions as well. Building societies, credit unions and other co-operatives have seen huge uptake since 2008, reflecting a growing commitment to organisations that specifically invest in their local communities.

The continuing appeal of the localism agenda is also suggested in the success of local currencies in Bristol and Brixton, which revert to a more simplistic financial mechanism. In these systems currency stays in the local area and value is determined comparatively, which more closely represents a bartering system than the fractional reserve banking model that the wider economy uses.

Bitcoin lies somewhere in between them all. The stateless, online-only currency represents another means of technology entering the world of finance and trade, whilst its peer-to-peer value is similar to bartering but without the localism agenda.

At its heart, the growth in alternative finance is about repatriating economic power away from irresponsible banks, and putting it back into the hands of individuals. People want to take responsibility for their finances and to make positive decisions about what their money supports, rather than leaving their money in the hands of opaque, unresponsive and bloated institutions. Emergent technologies and traditional financial institutions are helping people to take back control of their money, as well as enabling people to put their money where their morals are.

Research from Move Your Money shows that over 500,000 people switched away from the big banks in the first half of 2012 alone. With regulatory changes coming this September, it will be even easier for customers to change who they bank with – with up to 14 million customers expected to make the switch.

With such a dearth of political leadership in driving real banking reform, it is more imperative than ever to demand change, by switching who you bank with and telling your MP why. With such a plethora of viable options currently available, now may very well be the best time to do it.

Barclays' bury fat-cat pay on belt-tightening budget day - frankly crass

2013-03-20T17:00:00+00:00

Barclays today slyly announced £38.5m of bonuses for its top executives whilst the country's attention was diverted by belt-tightening measures in the Chancellor’s Budget.

This massive bonus pool is an outrageous reward for failure in a year that can only be described as the most shameful in Barclays’ 323-year history. Trying to hide their big pay-checks and share options under the cover of the nation's belt-tightening budget is simply crass.

As public sector workers face another year of pay freezes and rampant inflation, Barclays bankers are popping champagne corks as if the financial crisis they helped engineer never happened. Meanwhile the only banks actually growing in austerity Britain are food banks!

It is hard to think of any justification for Jenkins’s bonus, given that he has barely begun his flagship ‘Project Transform’; and Rich Ricci is the head of the very investment arm responsible for the company’s biggest failings.

Its time to take a stand against these outrageous rewards for failure, by moving who you bank with and pressuring your MP to support more rigorous reform.

http://switchandtell.moveyourmoney.org.uk/

Guest blog: Move your investments

2013-03-18T09:00:00+00:00

Michael Buick explains why its even easier to invest ethically with new ethical investments platform Ethex

Ethex.org.uk is a new website that makes it easier for you to invest your money positively.

Its great to move your bank, but we can have a bigger impact if we also move our investments.

This is an important way to take back control of our money, by actively deciding where it is invested.

We call this 'positive investing': actively investing in ethical businesses, to get financial but also social and environmental returns.

So far this hasn't been that easy.

The most popular approach to making investments more ethical has been to use an ethical investment fund, which over half a million people in the UK do each year (EIRIS 2012). This can be a good start, but the majority of funds, like much of the rest of the financial sector, have failed to keep up with what we would expect of them, as a study by campaign group FairPensions recently showed: “much of the industry appears to be characterised by the unthinking application of a traditional screening approach to an outdated set of ethical priorities.” (FairPensions, ‘Ethically Engaged? A survey of UK ethical funds’, Dec 2012).

Most funds work by simply avoiding the least ethical companies, like tobacco or arms manufacturers, and investing for purely financial returns in whatever is left. You are handing your money to someone else to make the decisions.

A second option is ‘positive investment’: investing directly in ethical businesses. That way you know exactly what your money is being used for, and you can choose exactly what kind of social and environmental benefits you want your investment to support.

To get these benefits has taken quite a commitment in the past: to find out what’s on offer, compare the options, and go through the investment process oneself. It should be much easier.

That's why we have launched Ethex: a new online marketplace for positive ethical investments. Ethex makes it easy to find, understand and make investments in leading social businesses.

Investments featured on Ethex are all from businesses that put their mission at their heart, alongside financial returns, whether they are developing clean energy or better homes for the least advantaged.

You probably don’t want to move all your investments at once, but starting to make some positive investments is a great way to get more out of your money. It is exciting to invest directly in a business that you are really passionate about. Businesses like Good Energy, which is helping individuals to generate, sell, and use 100% renewable energy, or Traidcraft that supports innovative farmers and Artisans around the world to creating and sell fair trade products.

For example Sue made her first positive investment over a decade ago: "the charges are fair, and the financial returns are fair… The real kick I get is from knowing that I am supporting something that helps the planet, people, animals... I’m very proud to be part of it."

You don't need huge amounts of cash to get started - positive savings and investments starting from £10, in renewable energy, ethical finance, community enterprise, fair trade, and social property.

Make money do good at Ethex.org.uk

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Ethex launched earlier this January, with startup funding from five charitable foundations, and is run on a not-for-profit basis.

Ethex: make money do good.

Guest blog: Stop bankers' betting on food

2013-03-11T13:00:00+00:00

Dan Iles from World Development Movement explains the new Bankers Anonymous campaign to stop banks betting on food prices.

There is an endemic culture of gambling within the city of London. When someone becomes a trader for a bank like Barclays or Deutsche Bank, they immediately come under pressure to operate under a high risk, high gain strategy. A practice that some of us might be accustomed to seeing in our local Ladbrooks, but it is not something that we should expect from banks that are holding our money.

The whistleblower known as Cityboy uncovered this in a recent article for the Independent, noting:

“First of all, the asymmetrical nature of the bonus system incentivises reckless gambling because bankers receive a portion of any bets that come good but don't lose any of their own cash when they fail. Combine this wonderful reality with the fact that you are betting with someone else's money – and the fact that your senior colleagues repeatedly tell you that the party is coming to an end soon – and the incentive is there to put all your chips on red and to hell with the consequences.”

When this reckless culture is embedded in commodity future trading, serious global damage is committed. Food speculation happens when banks buy and sell futures or related contracts, gambling to make money from prices changes. A ‘futures contract’ enables farmers to sell their crops at a future date, at a guaranteed price. The price that futures contracts are traded at affects the real price of food. As more traders want to buy contracts in food, the price of the contract rises, causing the future price of food to rise. And the rising price of food in the future has huge repercussions on the real price of food now.

This gambling is making banks a significant amount of money. Between 2010 and 2012 Barclays made an estimated three-quarters of a billion pounds from speculating on food prices. This very speculation is exacerbating volatile food prices and driving millions of people in poverty across the world. In the latter half of 2010, 44 million people were driven into extreme poverty because of higher food prices.

In developing countries like Mali, food price rises mean painful choices between buying food, and having enough to afford things like basic healthcare or a child’s education.

Judith Chisapo, a Waitress in hotel in Lilongwe, Mali explained to us: “We have a shortage of maize in Malawi due to poverty. Many people don't have money. My salary is very low. I am unmarried and don't have children, but I am helping my parents and my brothers and sisters as it is hard for them to get a job. It is becoming more and more difficult to buy food, and fertiliser for those who grow food. Now when I get my salary, I buy a little bit to help my parents and brother. My parents also need ARVs, but to travel to the hospital to get them is very hard after buying food. Life is becoming very bad.”

What is more, this speculative trading is purely for the benefit of the banks and does not make any investments the real rural economy. Of money spent on commodity derivatives, not £1 is investing in increasing commodity production. Instead, traders attempt to skim profits off from buying low and selling higher (or vice versa) before even a grain has touched the shelf.

The situation has got so bad that World Bank has recorded a new norm for volatile food prices in world. As more money flows into these commodity future markets, the extent of the price fluctuations becomes greater. With billions of pounds flowing through these traders’ hands, this culture of gambling urgently needs tackling.

This is why World Development Movement is asking you to join Bankers Anonymous. This is a five-step programme designed for you to take action to ensure that firm regulations are put in place to stop this gambling culture in the City of London and across Europe. With your help, pressure will be put on the UK government to support European legislation to place a cap on food speculation and to bring these trades onto open and transparent exchanges where regulators can keep a close eye on them.

Moving your money away from these banks is an important action. But with your help we can ensure that the big banks are regulated to stop this reckless gambling with other people’s lives.

More Lloyds Bonuses Despite Mass Mis-Selling

2013-03-01T12:00:00+00:00

The Lloyds banking group announced a bonus pot of £365 million today, despite making a loss of over £570 million last year.

The bonus figures include an award of over £1.5 million to the Chief Executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio – in spite of the bank being forced to raise their compensation provision for PPI and interest rate mis-selling by £1.5 billion, more than half the total sum for the big four banks. The bonus pool is also significantly larger than the £4.3 million Lloyds was fined for late payment of PPI compensation.

The Lloyds Banking Group’s total outlay on compensation for mis-sold PPI and interest rate swaps now stands at £6.8 billion, the largest of any of Britain’s banks.

Taxpayer-backed Lloyds is responsible for more mis-selling than any other British bank. Yet Horta-Osorio still sees it fit to line his pockets with our money.

It's time for Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland cutomers to hit the bank where it hurts – by moving their money to a more ethical alternative.

RBS Bonuses: Our Bank Our Loss, Their Failure Their Reward

2013-02-28T09:00:00+00:00

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced a bonus pool of £607 million today, despite recording losses of over £5 billion last year.

Why should ordinary customers and taxpayers pay for RBS’ bonuses when the bank has failed to meet even the most basic standards of performance, customer service and integrity?

This has been a disastrous year for RBS, which is 82% owned by the taxpayer. Last year RBS set aside £1.7 billion compensation for PPI mis-selling, was fined £390m for rigging Libor interest rates, on top of making a loss of £5.17 billion.

The bank was also forced to commit another £175 million to compensation claimants after a computer failure in June 2012 locked customers out of their accounts, as well as a further £50m for mis-selling interest rate swaps to small businesses.

Yet despite all of this, the bank continues to reward failure on a massive scale.

It is outrageous that Stephen Hester has accepted a £2million bonus from taxpayers money for 2010, given that Libor rigging is known to have been occurring at RBS under his watch.

Hester is pocketing £2milion from the taxpayer to pat himself on the back for a year in which RBS made huge losses and was rigging the financial system, all whilst he was at the helm. Regulators and politicians have proved toothless in curbing these excesses.

It is high time that RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank customers voted with their feet, and moved their money to a bank that values its customers and supports the UK economy.

Check out the alternatives to the broken big banks, here on our website: http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/where-can-i-move-my-money-to

Guest blog: Moving my mortgage was easy - and it saved me money!

2013-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

Hilary Sudbury from the Avon Cooperative Development Agency explains why she moved her mortgage.

I feel strongly that people need to move their money away from the bonus-riddled profit-driven culture of the mainstream banks, and that people shouldn’t forget to move their debt finance accounts too – for us this was by far our biggest expense every month.

I work supporting start up and existing co-operatives so you might not be surprised to know that the family has its accounts with the Co-op Bank, a Bristol Credit Union account and also a Bristol Pound account. However, our mortgage account, having been taken out with Cheltenham and Gloucester when it was a mutual Building society, had been bought out by Lloyds some years previous – horror!

I tried to find out if our mortgage account would automatically transfer to the Co-op Bank (given their purchase of part of the Lloyds TSB business) but was told that it could be years before everything was finalised – there were no guarantees. Action was needed, I approached the Co-op Bank and having a current account which my salary is paid into qualified us for a fee free (automatic saving of £1000 or so, including the legal fees) Current Account Exclusive lifetime tracker with an interest rate way below our existing mortgage

The process couldn’t have been easier - applied via a phone call and a filled in application form came through the post for us to sign and return with supporting documentation (salaries info etc.). Once the mortgage was approved they forwarded the details to a their solicitors who completed the transaction between Cheltenham and Gloucester and The Co-op Bank seamlessly. I can now see our mortgage account alongside our other accounts on internet banking which is strangely pleasing.

Moving your debt can be cheaper and it really is no longer a longwinded painful process to switch. Go on have a look at what’s on offer. http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/where-can-i-move-my-money-to

You can find out more about the Avon CDA at their website http://www.cda.coop, and follow them on Twitter @bristolcda

Barclays: still rewarding failure

2013-02-12T09:00:00+00:00

Today Barclays is expected to announce a bonus pool of £1.852bn, despite pre-tax profits plummeting from £5.9 billion to £246 milllion.

The move will inevitably reignite public anger over excessive pay at Barclays after a year in which the bank was fined £290 million for rigging Libor and has been mired in a string of scandals, ranging from mis-selling to structuring aggressive tax avoidance schemes.

This bumper bonus pool is an outrageous reward for failure in a year that can only be described as the most shameful in Barclays’ 323 year history.

Antony Jenkins, the man charged with cleaning up the bank’s tarnished image after the resignation of disgraced former CEO Bob Diamond, will be laying out Barclays’ new strategy to create a “socially useful bank”, dubbed 'Project Transform’.

However, many insiders say that the reforms will prove to be largely cosmetic, focusing on cutting costs and streamlining the more controversial units such as those involved in tax structuring and commodity markets. This contrasts sharply with the slash-and-burn reforms advocated by senior regulators, such as the former Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King.

How can customers have confidence in Jenkins’ claim to be building a ‘better bank for customers and Britain’ whilst he continues to sweep bad news under the carpet and refuses to implement the fundamental changes needed?

Meanwhile, 16% of all Barclays’ customers were actively thinking of leaving the bank. This will give many the push they need to move their money to a better bank.

RBS Libor fine: bankers must face the consequences of their actions, just like the rest of us

2013-02-05T20:00:00+00:00

The Royal Bank of Scotland is due to be fined between £400 and £500 million by the Financial Services Authority and US regulators for manipulating Libor, the key benchmark interest rate for the global financial system.

RBS, like Barclays and UBS, has admitted to lying about the rate at which banks lend money to each other in order to bolster trading profits and protect itself from losses. Across the globe a further 20 banks are under investigation for similar activities.

Laura Willoughby Chief Executive of Move Your Money said:

“This is nothing short of kamikaze greed. Libor is the railroad tracks on which our banking system runs, RBS and other banks have shattered trust in the very foundations of our financial system.

"The manipulation of Libor is not a victimless crime. The rampant greed and dishonesty of RBS has forced small businesses to the wall and short changed ordinary families."

RBS has fired 4 traders and suspended the Head of Rates Jezri Mohideen, after an internal investigation. However, pressure is increasing on the Head of the Investment Bank, John Hourican and Head of Markets, Peter Nielson to step down.

Laura Willoughby continued:

"Bankers must face the consequences of their actions just like the rest of us, and that includes those at the very top. But this isn't about a few bad apples, this is deep rot in the very fabric of the banking system. Bankers were incentivised to lie and cheat because of an obscene bonus and pay culture which rewarded short term profits at the expense of all other considerations."

There have been concerns about a public backlash over RBS, which is over 80% publicly owned, sending taxpayers money across the Atlantic to pay the fine. In a speech on Monday, the Chancellor George Osborne intervened, calling on RBS to claw back bonuses in order to pay a portion of the US fine.

Laura Willoughby commented:

"We cannot afford to reward bankers for failure. RBS' reputation and business is in tatters and yet it has still set aside a bonus pool of over £250 million to give its senior staff a golden pat on the back. People have simply had enough and are starting to move their money. Banks are finally learning the hard way that the customer is always king."

John Fingleton, an RBS customer from Aviemore, is closing his current and savings accounts following the announcement:

”I’ve paid for this fine twice, both as taxpayer and as a customer. Having been with RBS for nearly 20 years I’m leaving because they simply do not have the integrity I expect of a bank”.

The news comes at the end of a disastrous year for the reputation of British banks, which have been mired in scandals from mis-selling to money laundering and rate fixing. A recent report by OFT into the current account market found that the rate at which consumers switch providers has increased since the bank bailouts.

In a speech earlier this year Andrew Haldane, a senior director at the Bank of England, admitted that banks had become ‘too big to prosecute’ and the fines levied on them were seen as part of the costs of doing business. He appealed to ordinary customers to move their money if they wanted to change the behaviour of high street banks.

Reforms could teach ‘Masters of the Universe’ that the customer is King but making switching easier is only half the answer

2013-02-05T09:00:00+00:00

Move Your Money's comment on George Osborne's speech on Monday 4th February, promising to 'electrify' the ring fence around retail banks.

In a speech on banking reform the Chancellor has called for powers to break up the banks and make switching easier and faster.

In response to the Chancellor's speech Move Your Money’s Chief Executive, Laura Willoughby MBE said:

“The banks have held us hostage, both as taxpayers and customers. Only the threat of full separation can ensure that taxpayers will never again have to reach into their pockets to bail out failed banks.

The bankers may like to think of themselves as ‘masters of the universe’, but these reforms could force them to learn the hard way that the customer is always king."

However, she cautioned that:

"Making switching easier is only half the answer. More needs to be done to force banks to be transparent about what they’re charging their customers, otherwise there can be no real competition.”

In response to Chief Executive of the British Bankers Association, Anthony Browne's claim that reforms will make it harder for banks to raise investment and so reduce their ability to lend to businesses, Laura Willoughby said:

“The British Bankers Association is yet again putting the short term interests of its members over the UK economy. The threat of full separation is a necessary cornerstone in efforts to rebuild public trust in British banking. The taxpayer cannot and will not be forced to bail out the banks again.

Banks which follow the letter and spirit of the law have nothing to fear from these reforms. Law-abiding banks will create a clear and credible plan for implementing the ring-fence that will give investors the confidence they need. The only thing generating uncertainty for investors is banks dragging their heels and trying to 'hop the fence'.”

Is Islamic banking the answer to our unethical business woes?

2013-01-23T09:00:00+00:00

Christian Campbell is a freelance journalist & copywriter with previous work in The Times and the Manchester Evening News. He won a BBC innovation award in 2011 & was a runner up in the NCTJ student journalist scoop of the year.

Unfair business practices have been making the headlines recently, and faith in businesses has been shaken as a result. Amazon and Starbucks’ tax avoiding ways is losing them customers and attracting protesters to demonstrate against them.

At the same time, payday loan companies are targeting the poorest in our society with cash loans at astronomical interest rates of over 4,000%. This leaves many people struggling under unbearable debts.

People have lost faith in the banking system in Britain and many are wondering whether there is an alternative to the exploitative banks on our high street that helped cause the economic downturn that we are all experiencing today.

This situation has helped boost the ethical alternatives to mainstream banking, with many people being more creative in where they want to put their money. One alternative that has seen a major boost is Islamic banking.

Islamic or Sharia banks are financial institutions that are consistent with the principles of Islam. This means they aren't allowed to charge interest or fees on loans, and they can only invest in businesses that are not considered sinful.

The two core principles of Islamic banking are the sharing of profit and loss and, significantly, the prohibition of the collection and payment of interest. The five key types of Islamic sources of finance are explained more in detail here.

So Islamic banking is an ethical investment model, which relies on a positive mutual relationship between the bank and the person using its services. This means the customer and the bank share the risk of any investment on terms that they agree, and divide all the profit on that investment between them.

Wealth is generated under Islamic banking only via legitimate trade and investment. But investment in companies involved with alcohol, gambling, tobacco and pornography is strictly off limits.

Islamic banking is one of the fastest-growing sections in the financial market as calls for a more ethical banking model has led to an increasing demand for the services of Islamic or Sharia banks all over the world. This has led to many more people wanting to work at one of these ethical banks.

The University of Salford has been running a masters course in Islamic banking and finance for several years now, and it has found it very popular. Graduates of their course have found themselves well placed to get lucrative and rewarding jobs in leading Islamic banking institutions both in the UK and internationally, for example in Gulf countries.

With the growth of this sector many western style banks are developing their own Islamic banking sections, as well as investment departments. So this too has grown the jobs market for well trained Islamic banking specialists.

There are alternative ways in to this career, other than paying £9,000 for a full time course. Many distance learning specialists can also offer a way in to this career. Kaplan is a proven training provider that offers three different qualifications, designed for people’s differing experience. The CIMA certificate in Islamic finance is designed for newcomers to Islamic finance. When trained to this level a person can find access to an internship at an Islamic bank much easier. The Diploma in Islamic Finance is better for people with some knowledge of Islamic Banking who need to broaden their confidence in the subject. The Advanced Diploma is for the Islamic Banking professional who needs the skills to develop new Islamic finance products.

Islamic banking would appear to be an answer to the exploitative charging of interest by payday loans companies and the unfair avoidance of paying taxes that the financial industry currently supports and upholds. Whether it holds the solution to these problems remains to be seen, but with this sector continuing to grow, the time of Islamic banking may be coming.

We're looking for a (paid) Campaigns and communications intern!

2013-01-23T09:00:00+00:00

Intern post: Campaigns and communications intern
Salary range: London Living Wage (£8.30 per hour)
Hours: Full time - 38 hours a week
Period: 3 months, starting 11 February 2013
Location: London, TBC

Communications and campaigns intern
London Living Wage (£8.30 per hour)
Full time – 38 hours a week
3 months, starting 11 February 2013
TBC

About Move Your Money UK

"At an individual level, you can't do everything to put an unfair economy right - but you can do something. Move Your Money is the new fair-trade, it is THE campaign of our time" Ed Mayo, General Secretary, Cooperatives

Move Your Money is a national campaign launched in February last year to raise awareness of alternative banking and encourage people to move their money from the big banks to local, mutual and ethical financial institutions. Since our launch we've built an impressive profile in national press, among the alternative finance sector, and on social media. Anger at the broken and unfair banking sector is at an all-time high and there has never been a better time for a Move Your Money campaign.

As we enter an exciting new phase of our development, we are seeking a Communications and campaign intern to take the movement to the next level. We need someone with sharp communications skills, a strong understanding of media and social media, and the ability to take the initiative. This is a great opportunity for someone wanting to start out in campaigning communications to make a real difference to a campaign that will have a direct and significant impact on social justice in the UK.

Communications and campaigns intern

Reporting to: Laura Willoughby, Chief Executive

Purpose of the post: To be involved in hands-on presswork, developing our social media voice and helping develop and deliver campaigning opportunities.

Key responsibilities:
• Media monitoring
• Developing and keeping our media database up-to-date
• Day-to-day social media operations and developing and expanding our reach
• Writing press releases and liaising with journalists
• Helping design and deliver visual and exciting campaigns
• Crunching numbers and stats to help us get great news stories
• Admin – because no job comes without it!

Person specification:
• Excellent written and oral communications skills
• The ability to adapt quickly to situations and provide solutions in a demanding environment
• The ability to work on your own initiative and also as a good team player
• A good knowledge of on-line technology, helping us to deliver our campaign
• A keen eye for detail and accuracy
• Any previous campaigning experience a plus!

What you can expect from us:
• You will form part of a friendly dedicated team
• You will receive hands-on, practical experience for career development
• Your contributions will be valued
• We’ll provide constructive feedback and support to help guide you to your next opportunity

Terms and conditions:
• Salary: £8.30 p/h
• Contract period: fixed term contract for three months with one month probationary period
• Location: London, with opportunities for home working. Post-holder must have the right to work in the UK
• Working hours: 38 hours per week. Flextime is available with approval and work outside of core hours will be required
• Leave: 22 working days per year pro-rata, excluding public holidays

To apply:
Please send your CV along with a cover letter including why you are interested and what you could bring to the role addressing the person specification
Send to: angie@moveyourmoney.org.uk, by 5pm 30 January
Interviews will be held the week of February 4 2013

WE HEART OWNERSHIP - Guest post from Trillion Fund

2013-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

Trillion Fund is a renewable energy investment platform that enables people to invest small sums directly into renewable energy projects.

Contemporary capitalism has resulted in a concentration of wealth and power at the top of multi-national corporations and in the hands of a few ultra-influential individuals.

Decisions about the fundamentals of how we live, eat and power our homes are often made in boardrooms many miles from where we live – quite possibly in another country.

Combined to this, the market uncertainties presented by both the spluttering global economy and politicians’ diverse attitudes to resource constraints contribute to a feeling of being increasingly buffeted by mysterious forces beyond our control.

If we are concerned with price rises, to whom do we voice our concerns? Only a sadomasochist would give it a go via an energy company’s ‘customer service helpline.’

Do we have to accept whatever price the market throws at us? Are we just cogs in a giant economic machine?

New approaches to ownership suggest that there are ways people can consolidate their position, get a better deal and build up resilience to future shocks. The key may lie in actually buying a stake and co-owning infrastructure assets that previously have been considered the domain of governments and large companies.

By using new, online, collaborative platforms and pooling resources, people are getting a better deal on everything from energy bills, access to cars and loans. More than this, the communities that come together to buy key assets and access a better price for services then find that not only do they pay less, they get some control back and become empowered to make important decisions locally. Anecdotal evidence suggests this both rejuvenates a sense of real democracy and enhances their lives.

When a village is presented with plans for a wind turbine to be built in the fields behind the school, people can react angrily. They may express fears that it will be ugly, kill birds or hypnotize drivers into thinking they are in a plane. Part of this reaction could be a gut reaction to their turf being messed. It is another case of decisions being made remotely, without their consent and affecting their lives.

There are an increasing number of accounts of enthusiasm replacing anger when local renewable energy assets are owned by and benefit the local community. Imagine a situation where villagers collaboratively finance the construction of a wind turbine. Not only do they get cheaper electricity, they also get a quarterly dividend from surplus electricity sold back to the grid.

Energy ceases to be abstract and mysterious. It is real, linked to the rotating blade over yonder and the entire household is better motivated to understand it and use it wisely.

Other benefits are less easy to quantify but perhaps even more important. The community is more resilient. This means that should there be, for example, a war in the Middle East and market energy rates soar, this village can stay powered.

The organisational process of community ownership is itself of value. It feels good to come together and find solutions to shared challenges.

What’s next? Neighbourhoods might investigate crowdfunding a community space or opt to save the local post office. Perhaps shared funds could turn part of the village recreation ground into a shared allotment space? Or could a locally run car club reduce the total numbers of cars in the neighbourhood, freeing space for a weekly farmers’ market?

When we rebel against the notion that we are powerless individuals, we can see an opportunity: by linking together, we can do better.

Matt Mellen is campaign director for Trillion Fund

Guest video blog: A democratic finance platform to reclaim ownership of your money

2012-12-12T12:00:00+00:00

AN INTERVIEW with Abundance Generation Director Bruce Davis, about the new democratic finance platform that is helping people move their money from banks to assets.

The premise of democratic finance is to enable everyone, not just the 1%, to invest in assets. Bruce Davis, Director of Abundance Generation, is an anthropologist first: interested in people and how we use money. He was part of the team behind Zopa, the peer loaning platform that now supports 2% of UK loans.

Wanting to do more with democratic finance, such as crowd-funding infrastructure, Bruce teamed up with renewables expert Karl Harder. Together they created a platform enabling people to invest as little as £5 to put money into renewable projects, benefitting communities and earning a good rate of return.

At the same time as providing a model that marries civics and finance, Abundance has arrived at a time when energy prices are rocketing. Energy independence means looking ahead to a time when gas and electricity bills could be many times more expensive than they are today.

I interview Bruce in a café near the Abundance Generation office. What’s clear is how firmly he believes that people should be confident enough to assume responsibility for their own money, and invest – as he puts it – ‘in things not money’.

The principle of democratic finance

At the heart of Abundance, says Bruce, is the belief that, “[People should] actually have the confidence to make decisions about where your money goes, and how it is used, rather than putting it to someone else and saying, ‘Right, OK, you make those decisions for me…’”

Bruce Davis explains why democratic finance is important via The Eco Experts

Switching banks, and defining ‘risk’

I explained to Bruce that I’ve put off switching banks because it’s such a hassle to close accounts. He replied, “99% of what banks communicate – what they call ‘trust’ – is actually a distrust in yourself. They try to undermine your confidence, to make you reliant on them.”

Bruce Davis on switching banks, or even taking money out of banks and into ‘things’. via The Eco Experts

Abundance Generation is growing rapidly and establishing multiple investment opportunities so its investors can put their eggs strategically, in multiple baskets. Redefining ‘risk’ is at the heart of what Abundance is all about. Bruce puts it like this:

“When we talk about ‘risk’ what we actually mean is ‘uncertainty’… I would say that risk is a good thing because it’s when you’ve quantified uncertainty… Actually what you need is a mix of risks. We’ve lost the ability to think about risk in terms of managing uncertainty.”

Bruce points to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as an example of something that seems like a safe investment – BP - turning out to have been a bad investment because the risk was greater than investors realised.

Bruce Davis defines ‘risk’ and ‘uncertainty’ as investment terms. > viaThe Eco Experts

Abundance is looking to grow further in 2013, offering more energy projects and attracting more investors. Thanks to Bruce for granting the interview. For more information visit www.abundancegeneration.com

About the author:

David Thomas writes about cleantech, government policy and energy efficiency for The Eco Experts. You can speak to him at @theecoexperts

HSBC ‘The Worlds Local Money Launderer’ Awarded Record Fine

2012-12-11T17:30:00+00:00

Following a recent US Senate inquiry into money laundering at HSBC bank, United States regulators have landed yet another crippling body blow to the shredded reputation of the City of London, the UK banking sector and its failed regulators - including the British Bankers Association, and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) by today announcing a record $1.9 billion deferred prosecution settlement with HSBC.

HSBC and its many subsidiaries in offshore tax havens have been courting and laundering money from known terrorist organisations and regimes, including Syria, Iran and Russia, not to mention Mexican drug lords. Clearly fraud and criminal activity has become systemic within British banks.

Embarrassment heaped on HSBC came just hours after London based rival Standard Chartered, was forced to pay out a total of £415m to US regulators for breaching sanctions with Iran.

Move Your Money UK spokesperson Louis Brooke said:

"Today’s HSBC fine is welcomed but ultimately its bank customers that will pay the price. It’s not just Starbucks and Amazon avoiding tax and shifting profits offshore, banks like HSBC make no bones about being in the business of helping the super rich and big corporates avoid regulation and tax”

Now we all see they were abetting criminals and corrupt regimes as well. It’s the banks which structure the schemes, banks which offer places to hide the money and move the money between a myriad of subsidiary companies in offshore tax havens”

Eyes are now firmly on the FSA to see how its fine measures up to its USA counterpart, with HSBC rumoured to be close to a settlement with the British financial regulator.

The deferred HSBC prosecution settlement leaves current Trade Minister Lord Green - former HSBC CEO and Chairman in an increasingly precarious position as a review of HSBC’s money laundering activities focuses on the role of the senior management team. Thus far Number 10 Downing Street has failed to rebuke Lord Green for his role in the scandal – however maintaining a tainted Trade Minister in the cabinet poses serious credibility issues for the increasingly unpopular Con-Dem administration.

In un-related news UK regulatory authorities have announced that three bankers have been arrested across south England this morning following an ongoing Serious Fraud Office probe into LIBOR rigging.

In July, disgraced Barclays CEO Bob Diamond was forced to resign amid an escalating scandal that Barclays and other UK banks including RBS, Lloyds, UBS and HSBC had conspired to artificially manipulate the London inter-bank offered rate (LIBOR) – the rate at which banks lend money to each other that effects the global benchmark rate of credit – controlling the price of essentially everything in a $300 trillion global market as rolling stone editor Matt Taibbi explains.

With today’s three arrests and further LIBOR rigging settlements for UBS and RBS (expected to be awarded the largest fine) rumoured to be close to agreement, City of London banking scandals have a long way to run. Perhaps this is why London Mayor Boris Johnson should choose today of all days to announce a PR blitz protecting London's tattered reputation as the global financial centre of choice.

For outraged consumers who have had it with HSBC, Barclays and RBS it must be high time to join the exodus of irate customers moving their money from the cartel of high street banks, as the steady flow of customers becomes a flood.

As the scandals grow – it seems the winter forecast for the British banksters is nothing but rain and an onslaught of increasingly thick financial mud.

Its time to bank on something better. Move Your Money.

Guest blog: Fed up of your bank’s sales patter?

2012-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

Jonathan Date from Which? reports on their new investigation into sales culture at our big banks.

A new Which? investigation has revealed the shocking extent to which a pressure-selling culture still dominates many of Britain’s largest retail banks. We think it’s time that banks put customers first, not sales.

Many people we’ve talked to have told us that they’re fed up of being offered a new type of insurance or packaged current account every time they contact their bank – either over the phone or going into their local branch. They feel like they’re often being sold products they don’t want or need - we've collected some of the things that people have said in this consumer dossier. Well, we decided to survey bank staff to find out what they thought about all of this – and got some very interesting results.

Of the more-than-500 bank staff we spoke to, 65% of those with targets told us that there’s more pressure than ever for them to sell. Four in ten of those with targets said these drive staff to sell customers products when it’s not appropriate. Our survey found that pressure selling and inappropriate sales targets are a problem across all of the UK’s ‘Big 5’ banks (Lloyds (HBOS), RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Santander) – with the percentage of bank staff who know that some of their colleagues have mis-sold products to meet targets varying from 31% at Santander to over half (53%) at HSBC. You can see our full report here for more details.

Recently senior bankers have been claiming that the culture in their is changing. Our research shows that their rhetoric isn’t filtering down to front line staff. While we’ve welcomed moves by Barclays and the Co-operative Bank to remove
financial incentives for sales, this by itself is not enough. What we need is a real cultural change, with a renewed focus on customer service and to move away from pressure meet sales targets.

The research Which? has done on the sales culture in banks is part of our wider campaign for a Big Change in banking. We want the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards to make recommendations to the Government to ensure so banks are run for customers, not bankers. Big Change is calling for:

Bankers to put customers first, not sales – with pay and bonus schemes, at all levels within banks, that are clear and transparent and prioritise meeting the needs of customers over simply making sales.

Bankers to meet professional standards and comply with a code of conduct - professional standards to be developed and enforced by an independent professional standards body, making it mandatory for individuals to comply with a code of conduct that is backed by statute, and contains genuine sanctions for malpractice.

Bankers to be punished for mis-selling and bad practice - proper whistle blowing arrangements in place so that frontline staff can raise concerns with senior executives.

Where mis-selling and poor conduct is found, executives must be held to account, with stronger criminal sanctions – all the way up to board level – if they have presided over corrupt practices.

If you agree with us that a Big Change in banking is needed, sign our pledge. You can click here to find out more.

Guest Blog: Thinking about investing ethically? You might want to read this…

2012-12-08T10:00:00+00:00

Guest Blog: Fair Pensions

If you want your money to reflect your values, you may be thinking about ethical
pensions or investments. In which case, you want to check out the new FairPensions
report looking at ethical investment funds.

We surveyed some of the largest ethical investment funds, worth a total of £6.5
billion. If you chose the ethical option on your workplace or personal pension it is
likely that your money is with one of the providers covered in the research.

Overall, we found most ethical providers are failing to keep up with current concerns
– or even trying to find out what their customers value.

Do ethical funds reflect our values?

Environmental damage, human rights and labour standards consistently top polls
of people’s ethical concerns. Yet the traditional ‘sin stocks’ of gambling, porn and
nuclear continue to dominate ethical investment. The pressing issues of today –
sustainability and corporate ethics – barely get a look in.

Are ethical funds trying to change the world?

When we invest in pensions, ISAs and investment funds, a lot of the money we pay in
is used to buy shares in companies. As owners, these funds have the power to change
how companies behave.

The ethical funds we looked at could be very influential. They are ideally placed
to lead changes in corporate culture. Mainstream shareholders tend to challenge
companies on their behaviour only when it poses financial risks. But ethical funds can
challenge bad behaviour for its own sake.

Here’s an example: your ethical investment fund has excluded tobacco and alcohol
but, to ensure you have some stable stocks, has put lots of money into a big
supermarket. Most people don’t disagree with supermarkets per se, but many of us
don’t like some of the things they do. Perhaps they are paying their suppliers badly.
Your fund could use its clout as a shareholder to change their approach. If the fund
sells the shares instead, these could end up with an investor who simply doesn’t care
about any of these issues.

Here at FairPensions we don’t rule out disinvesting from companies who behave
badly. But in a world in which half of the largest economies are those of companies
(not countries) we think that simply walking away from every company that
misbehaves isn’t the best way to get things to change.

That’s why one of the ways we ranked funds is their willingness to engage with
companies to improve their behaviour. We found that two-thirds of ethical fund
providers are not doing this. They still see their role as screening out the ‘bad guys’ –
a select few companies or sectors.

On the other hand there are some providers who really show what can be achieved.
One helped persuade advertising company WPP to close its Harare office after
it emerged that resources were being diverted to Mugabe’s election campaign.
Another successfully engaged with an engineering company over the human rights
implications of a project in Sudan.

For many people the decision where to invest your money can be fraught with
ethical dilemmas. On our website we try and help by ranking ethical funds on how
responsive and engaged they are, both with their customers and the companies they
invest in. If you want your ‘ethical’ investments to do more than help you sleep at
night then you might want to take a look.

Don't Bank On Sweeping Reforms From The Banking Standards Commission

2012-11-30T10:00:00+00:00

Sam Brightbart, campaigner with Move Your Money, dissects the Vickers Review and Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, discussing the prospects for meaningful bank reforms.

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards was established to report on the professional standards and culture of the UK banking sector, as well as corporate governance, transparency and conflicts of interest. It was called in response to the huge public outcry following the LIBOR scandal, and widespread consensus that the banking sector has to change.

Sir John Vickers is the man who recommended the ‘ringfencing’, or separation, of retail and investment bank divisions, which is arguably the most important and widely discussed element of the current proposals of the government’s Draft Bill for banking reform. The ringfence is intended to prevent the type of systemic bank failures which occurred with the 2008 financial crisis. However, Vickers noted to the commission that “it wasn’t for us to seek to regulate [bank] cultural standards” i.e. the widespread acceptance of market rigging and criminality which brought us LIBOR manipulation, PPI mis-selling and money laundering activity. In other words, his recommendations are based on a structural review of the banks, and do not take into account crucial moral or cultural factors.

Based on written submissions and public interviews with key figures in the sector, including the banks themselves, the commission is to make recommendations for legislative action by 18th December.

The submissions

A number of organisations, including the big banks, submitted suggestions, some of which are outlined here. As you’d expect, asking for suggestions from the institutions who are themselves in the midst of the scandal and at the receiving end of the proposed changes threw up some interesting results.

Barclays went as far as a ‘Chartered Institute of Bankers’, possibly with charitable status and not dissimilar to the current FSA, to set standards of conduct for individuals and threaten removal from the register for serious offences.

HSBC thought they’d do fine by themselves, thank you very much, recognising that “the UK’s regulatory regime is now tough and demanding” already, and they have (thank goodness) “establish[ed] a code of conduct that defines what is acceptable based on what we call ‘courageous integrity’, which requires staff to do what is right even if difficult or unpopular”. They believe that a soft approach of education and enforcing values is the way forward: probably why they’re on side with al-Qaeda and the Mexican drug cartels....

Lloyds also thought current measures being brought in by the government were probably fine, supporting existing initiatives such as the third Capital Requirements Directive, and declined to propose anything further; whilst RBS are sceptical as to the possible impact of the proposed ringfence, but did not make a submission to the Commission’s original request, and therefore have not made any additional suggestions either.

Overall, one would be hard-pushed to describe the big banks as inspired about banking reform. Which, of course, is no real surprise.

Oral Evidence

In addition, over the past five weeks, oral evidence has been presented to the commission by a number of key figures in British banking. A few of these interviews have been of particular interest, 13 November proving to be one of the most noteworthy days, with the heads of two of the big banks being interviewed by the commission.

Stephen Hester, head of RBS, showcased his rather contradictory opinions on the ringfencing proposals. He began by stating that “if the goal of a ringfence is the safety and soundness of the financial system, and the government not bailing out banks, I support it one hundred per cent”. This wholehearted backing was then undermined somewhat when he declared “my view is that ringfencing will cost something in terms of GDP and I don’t think it will provide any safety benefits to the UK financial system”, before he completely contradicted himself by agreeing that he thought the Vickers proposal would “increase systemic risk in banking”.

MP Nigel Lawson, who sits on the commission, later summed up Hester’s overall position thus: “what this means, in plain English, is that if you don’t get the profits to which you feel entitled by responsible banking, you will go in for irresponsible and reckless banking, in order to restore your profitability”.

Later that day, Antonio Horta-Osorio, CEO of Lloyds Group, made some declarations that one can only hope will be reflected in future decision-making. Firstly, he acknowledged that “taxpayers’ money never again be used to rescue failing banks” (can we quote you on that?), as well as the “need to balance growth and lending, and support to the UK economy with financial stability, a combination of four pillars, providing separation between retail and investment banking, and therefore avoiding possible debt contagion:

higher capital requirements
stricter rules
more intrusive day-to-day supervision
recovery and resolution mechanisms."

The Chancellor, George Osborne, spoke to the the committee on 21 November and received firm questioning on the fact that the terms of reference of the Vickers review only focussed on the capital requirements and physical structure of banks, not the culture and practices within banks that have delivered systematic cartel-like behaviour, LIBOR rigging, and the industrial scale mis-selling of financial services to customers.

Osborne responded that Vickers was an important first step, and that further secondary regulation would be needed, to address the culture of financial institutions.

The need for further reform and urgent action was echoed by outgoing Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King who gave evidence on 22 November, along with Paul Tucker (the Deputy Governor) and Andy Haldane (Executive Director of Financial Stability).

One of the more staggering revelations was that Vickers was pressured to reverse his position – that the ‘burden of proof’ in demonstrating financial soundness should rest with the banks. Mervyn King said: “the onus of proof of stability under Vickers was originally with the banks; it is now with the regulator,” which King considers a completely inappropriate approach.

Effectively, this means that UK regulators would be required under Vickers to investigate and establish the financial soundness of banks – who are known for their opaque financial reporting – in order to determine the appropriate risk level and set leverage ratios. A role which regulators are no doubt under-resourced to perform, and which detracts from the investigation of more pressing matters.

King questioned Basel 3 as an benchmark, noting that ‘leverage ratios (which determine the ratio at which deposits & savings can be lent out) gave an indicator of the banks that failed’ and “Northern Rock had adopted Basel two years prior, and was using a leverage ratio of 80:1. Vickers recommends adopting maximum leverage ratios of 25:1, and Basel 3 suggests 33:1.

King also warned of the “need to tackle malign forms of shadow banking” and spoke, along with Paul Tucker, of the need for clarity and the ability to monitor and regulate the offshore subsidiaries of UK based banks: “What I have been really struck by, in the last 5 years... is how much of [the regulatory process] is a negotiation between the regulators on one hand, and the banks on the other... The regulator, to be effective, has to be able to exercise judgement, but if judgement ends up simply as a negotiation... then there’s only one winner in that – and I think it would be a very bad outcome.”

King’s closing comment addressed public frustration with the lack of prosecution of bankers in clear cases of fraud: “you will not prevent this crisis from happening again by sending 15 guys to prison. We need to remove systemic incentives for risk taking.” Sounds to us like its time to review bankers’ pay and bonuses!.

Since King’s evidence we have seen the appointment of Mark Carney to Governor of the Bank of England by George Osborne. Carney who runs the Reserve Bank of Canada, after 13 years with Goldman Sachs, has presided over a massive bubble economy, fed by oil and gas exports, tar sands development, and Chinese demand for mineral resources. The wisdom of his appointment to the BoE remains to be seen once the tide goes out on the Canadian economy and their property bubble bursts. Carney’s appointment means ex Goldman Sachs employees now run 9 European Central Banks.

Our Verdict

From the evidence heard, and the tone of the committee’s questioning, it is clear that the Vickers proposal does not address key elements of required financial sector reform: namely the culture and conduct of banks, and how these can be regulated, monitored and enforced.

George Osborne insists that Vickers is still relevant in light of recent scandals, despite not addressing the internal behaviour that caused the banks to collapse in the first place. Vickers could help to prevent the banks from failing and to reduce contagion, but it will do nothing to change the toxic culture in banking.

It remains to be seen how the banking standards commission will address this critical issue, but there appears to be widespread industry acceptance that further action must be taken.

This week we have seen David Cameron ignore the recommendations of the Justice Leveson Judicial Review into press standards, following an intensive 12 month public inquiry, and there can be little confidence an MP led review of banking standards will not meet a similar fate.

Perhaps Andy Haldane said it best when stating: “If, as bank customers, we want to change the culture of banking, then we should start by supporting those banks which are delivering that change. Putting your money where your mouth is would deliver far greater and more durable change than any amount of banker bashing.” Move Your Money.

For our climate future - its time to move your money

2012-11-28T12:00:00+00:00

Joel Benjamin, a campaigner with Move Your Money, lays out the links between finance and climate change - and why moving your money could help the planet.

Since reckless bank lending caused the 2008 global financial crisis, we have seen the abandonment and watering down of previous climate commitments, under the guise of ‘austerity’ and the need to trim Government spending in order to tackle private-public debts.

We are told by Chancellor George Osborne that “environmentally sustainable must be economically sustainable”, as he publicly supports a ‘dash for gas’, and fracking - a practice known to create short-term economic bubbles, with significant environmental pollution and human health risks.

Reliance on gas to generate electricity exposes us to global price hikes and political geopolitical instability, whilst offshoring UK energy profits and jobs to German & French multi-national energy giants EDF, E.ON, and N-Power. Expansion of fracking, and environmentally devastating Canadian tar sands oil extraction – funded by RBS to the tune of $13.9 billion since 2007 - has been referred to as ‘game over for the climate if it proceeds’ by NASA scientist James Hansen.

Over the past 150 years the concentration of atmospheric Co2 has risen 40%, in step with rising fossil use. The tar sands oil deposits which bank funded oil companies plan to exploit contain enough carbon to raise atmospheric CO2 a further 30%. The UK is supporting this exercise in environmental self-destruction by reopening a disused oil refinery in Wales, to process imported tar sands from Canada.

Focused solely on a GDP growth measure of progress, Osborne is utterly failing to pay the urgent attention we need to safeguard the value of natural ecosystems, their many un-costed services, and human reliance on a stable climate to feed an ever growing global population.

It is inconceivable that Osborne, with his disregard for the environment, should have such sway over energy policy, and influence in undermining the renewable energy agenda, within a coalition claiming to be the ‘Greenest Government Ever.’

In recent weeks, reports from conservative institutions such as the World Bank, business giant PricewaterhouseCooper, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and even the CIA have sounded the alarm on spiralling climate risks and the need for immediate global action.

When international climate negotiators met last year in Durban, the world was set on course to negotiate a new legally binding climate agreement by 2015, an agreement that would not come into force until 2020. We know the science and economics of climate change tell us that global emissions need to peak well before 2020 and begin to decline, if we are to keep average temperature rise below 2°C, let alone the 1.5°C that more than 100 countries likely to be most affected by climate change are demanding. The policy response to the climate crisis is wholly inadequate.

One of the major barriers to decarbonisation is the massive lobbying force represented by big oil and the banks that finance them. Five of the top 10 FTSE listed companies are exclusively fossil fuel companies, with SHELL representing 12% of all UK pension fund investments. The ratio of fossil fuel subsidies to renewable subsidies favours big oil by 5:1. If renewable energy is to compete with hydrocarbons in a free market, the implicit subsidy to oil corporations and the aviation industry must be removed.

We desperately need fit-for-purpose, and socially and environmentally responsible banks, that lend money for the infrastructure we need to decarbonise the global economy, namely energy efficiency measures, renewable energy, and mass transit systems.

Currently we are faced with a government established ‘Green Investment Bank’ that lacks the ability to borrow money, while tax payer owned RBS and Lloyds continue to invest in fossil fuels, with complete disregard for broader society, let alone the environment.

If the Green Investment Bank cannot lend, then concerned citizens should demand that the Government mandate socially responsible investment by state owned RBS and Lloyds – thus ensuring the capital to invest in decarbonisation, and the long-term stability of the UK economy, safeguarding the climate system for future generations.

At Doha, developed countries need to make clear how they will support developing countries to tackle the challenge of climate change. It is critical that negotiations agree upon innovative sources of finance, such as increased levies on aviation and shipping. We should see US$10 to 15 billion per year between 2013 and 2015, and a pathway that leads us towards the promised US$100 billion per year funding by 2020.

Whilst the lead up to Doha talks was noted for an increased sense or urgency - on the back of superstorm Sandy, and alarming projections of 4 degrees warming – how this translates into political action and economic implementation remains to be seen.

As educated citizens, we can ensure the banks we support don’t invest in climate trashing fossil fuel extraction, but do invest in renewable alternatives.

For our climate future - its time to move your money.

Make a New Year's resolution you'll keep - move your money

2012-11-28T10:00:00+00:00

Apparently, 58% of all New Year’s resolutions last year involved getting more exercise. So far so good – but sadly another study has shown that 75% of all resolutions are never kept. We need a new kind of resolution. How about one that simply requires a one-off action, benefits society as a whole, and can encourage others to take similar action? Sounds good, doesn’t it. Why not make moving your money your New Year’s resolution?

You’ve heard about the move your money campaign. You know the reasons why you need to leave your high street bank. But you just haven’t got round to it yet.

That’s fine. Completely understandable. You didn’t have the time. But now you’ve got the perfect opportunity.

Make moving your money your New Year’s resolution. Commit to opening a new account in the Better Banking sector by January 30th.

Take a look at our list of alternatives, choose one you like the sound of, and apply for an account.

Each day you put off moving your money is a day that your savings are used for risky speculation, bankers’ bonuses, arms investments, food speculation, and destabilising the economy. So make the change now.

Make this New Year’s resolution the one you keep.

The Mercury Prize - Don't let your talent be used to make Barclays look cool

2012-10-30T20:00:00+00:00

Dear Mercury Prize nominees, panel and fans,

Congratulations to all of you who have been nominated for this established and revered prize!

My purpose in writing this letter is not to question the merit of artists, nor the value of the Mercury prize, but to raise serious concerns about the credibility and ethical standards of the source of sponsorship - Barclays bank.

It is important that artists and musicians are aware of Barclay’s practices, especially because of the public’s current level of interest in the UK financial system following the worst financial crisis in a generation which, among other things, has resulted in severe austerity cuts to the arts.

A reminder of some of Barclay’s other recent activities:

Barclays is the world’s largest investor in arms. In 2008 Barclays held shares in global arms companies worth £7.3bn. Some of these companies produce cluster munitions, a weapon banned by the UK Government due to the unacceptably high rate of civilian casualties caused by them.
Barclays has a history of providing banking services to oppressive regimes, such as apartheid South Africa, and more recently, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
In 2009 tax avoidance enabled Barclays to pay a mere 1% of its £4.6bn profits in corporation tax.
Barclays has set aside nearly £2.5bn in order to compensate customers and businesses it had mis-sold two types of insurance to - Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) and Interest Rate Swaps. Customers either didn’t know they had bought PPI, or were aggressively sold the insurance even though they couldn’t possibly claim it. Thousands of businesses have been hurt by the Interest Rate Swaps that have left some firms bankrupt with hundreds of thousands and even millions in costs, due to risks they say they were never warned about.
This summer, Barclays was caught manipulating Libor - a key global benchmark for the price of financial products the bank trades in. There is email evidence that Barclays employees manipulated the rate daily in order to maximise their bonuses, completely disregarding the fact that their actions were also impacting the rates of loans and mortgages of millions of people across the country and worldwide, in what is estimated to be a $300 trillion financial market pegged to Libor.

Barclays, and some other UK banks, are, like tobacco companies before them, responsible for causing significant human trauma. We no longer allow tobacco firms to sponsor sport and cultural events, and the same should hold true for the banks which crashed the economy and yet continue to invest in socially destructive activities.

Over the past couple of years, the Move Your Money movement has seen millions of people across the world move their money out of irresponsible banks, driven solely to work for profit (like Barclays), to financial institutions with ethical integrity that work for the benefit of the economy and wider society.

But banking with Barclays isn’t the only way we are currently supporting and endorsing their activities. By letting Barclays sponsor one of the UK’s most loved music awards we are enabling the bank to build a reputation based on the talent of our favourite musicians, whilst cleansing their scandal plagued brand.

It is regrettable that Barclays has been relied upon for sponsorship of the Mercury Prize; it’s time to voice your support for a change of sponsor in the future that both nurtures and reflects the talents, hard work, and potential of our musicians. Don’t let your talent be used to make Barclays look cool.

Yours Sincerely,

Marloes Nicholls and the Move Your Money team.

Find out more at www.moveyourmoney.org.uk and @MoveYourMoneyUK

Bank of England top dog says 'put your money where your mouth is'

2012-10-30T17:00:00+00:00

Contender for the job of Governor of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, last night said:

"If as bank customers we want to change the culture of banking, then we should start by supporting those banks who are delivering that change. Putting your money where your mouth is would deliver far greater and more durable change than any amount of banker-bashing."

He was speaking at an event on 'Socially useful banking' convened by Occupy UK. You can read his full speech here.

Haldane said that a corner is being turned in the UK's banking sector, emphasising that change was coming both from regulators and ordinary people who are demanding better banks. He praised a model of banking where:

"All credit decisions are taken locally by people, not centrally by a computer. No bonuses are paid and no-one has a sales-target. When the whole firm out-performs, a contribution is made to a pooled fund which is invested on employees’ behalf. The fruits of success are distributed equally and gratification is deferred."

Move Your Money believes we are at a tipping point. There is a real alternative to the big banks that is better for customers and better for the economy: building societies and the cooperative have seen a surge in new customers, as have smaller ethical banks and new peer to peer lending platforms.

Even the country’s most powerful regulators are waking up to the fact that top down reform can only take us so far. Ultimately, it is up to us as customers to move our money out of the big banks if we want to see lasting change.

If you want to put your money where your mouth is, (perhaps we should ask Andy where he keeps his?!), find out where you can move to now.

Why I moved my daughter's money

2012-10-29T09:00:00+00:00

Laura recently opened a savings account for her baby daughter with Ecology Building Society. Here, she explains why.

I first heard about moving my money to an alternative bank account through Twitter from reading a tweet by @MoveYourMoney. Until then I wasn't aware that there were any other banks other than the High Street choices (unless you have oodles of cash).

I've always felt uncomfortable with the fact that my money helps fund less than desirable causes (in my eyes). So I was so happy to find a building society through the Move Your Money site that actually helps our environment, and not only that but being a building society, is run in the interest of its customers: as a customer I get a say in what the investments get put towards.

I am going to initially open a savings account for my daughter with the Ecology Building Society and from there will open a savings account for myself also. The fact that I am doing this for my daughter not only provides her with funds when she's older to either buy a car or put down a deposit on a house but it also sends her a very important message; that we should all bear the burden of responsibility for our world and what goes on around us and that none of us should shift the blame to those in positions of power. We are all capable of making changes for the greater good and the masses are far more powerful than the few.

Inspired to move yours too? Do you have a story to share? We want to hear it! Email jessica@moveyourmoney.org.uk

Would you like to be on our board?

2012-10-26T01:00:00+00:00

Passionate about better banking? Become a trustee at Move Your Money to make a difference.

Move Your Money UK is a national campaign to spread the message that we can all help to build a better banking system.

We provide people with the information and confidence they need to make informed decisions regarding the types of financial institutions they want to support, work to strengthen the ethical financial sector, and broaden and enhance the debate on financial reform.

The Move Your Money UK campaign is inspired by the hugely successful 'Move Your Money Project' in the US, which has seen over 10 million accounts moved since 2010.

We are an independent not-for-profit organisation working to raise awareness about the broad range of financial institutions available to customers in the UK. We are funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, a charitable foundation promoting excluded communities. We are staffed entirely by volunteers from a range of professional backgrounds including financial services, media, events, and campaigning.

Move Your Money is now approaching its first birthday. In its first year it has significantly raised the profile of ethical, local and mutual financial institutions through its work in the media, developed a nationwide network of grassroots support and encouraged tens of thousands of individuals and organisations to move their money to better banks.

We have an exciting year ahead campaigning with local authorities, small business and civil society organisations as well as reaching out to individuals.

We feel the time is now right to appoint some new trustees to the Board of Move Your Money to give the campaign strategic direction and help it continue to grow.

Click here to download the role description.

To apply, please email a copy of your CV, a covering letter outlining why you think you would be suitable to become a trustee of Move Your Money to jessica@moveyourmoney.org.uk by Monday 12th November. You can also contact louis@moveyourmoney.org.uk if you would like a discussion about the role and organisations before applying.

Time for a Big Change in banking?

2012-10-24T08:00:00+00:00

Miranda Akhurst, Senior Advocate for Which? UK, explains why we need a Big Change in banking.

After the LIBOR scandal that unravelled in the summer, the Government launched the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards to investigate the culture and professional standards in the banking industry and to suggest ways to improve them. It has also been asked to scrutinise the Banking Reform Bill - the Bill that will, among other things, bring in the ring fence that will force banks to create a clear separation between their high-street retail and investment arms, protecting consumers’ savings from risky investments. The Commission is essentially a group of MPs and members of the House of Lords who are gathering evidence from different individuals and organisations before presenting their findings back to the Government.

At Which? we want to see a big improvement in the way banks treat their customers. This is why we launched our Big Change campaign, and are asking the Commission to make strong recommendations so that we have banks for customers, not bankers. The Commission has come at a time when the public’s trust in banking is at an all time low.

When we asked consumers about their views of the banks only 11% of people trusted bankers to act in their best interests. There has been scandal-after-scandal in the banking industry – from government bail outs to big bonuses; and from the mis-selling of financial products such as PPI to the recent LIBOR scandal.

Banks across the board were involved in pushing customers to take out Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) who wouldn't benefit from the product. Collectively the banks have set aside £10.2bn for refunding customers who complain, however, Which? research has found out that this might not be enough. Lloyds, for instance, could run down the pot of money they set aside as early as next month, and will need to allocate even more money to repay customers. The number of people complaining about being mis-sold PPI more-than-doubled in the last 6 months, and it doesn't look like the complaints will end any time soon.

Which? wants to see a Big Change in banking culture, including higher levels of professional standards and a code of conduct that bankers have to abide by. Bankers need to put customers first instead of their sales targets - we want to see an end to bankers peddling products customers don't need. We want banks to reward staff for excellent customer service, rather than the amount of sales they make. The steps the Co-op and Barclay's have recently made on this front are a step in the right direction. As well as incentives for good behaviour, we also want regulators to be given the power to punish bankers when they mis-sell a product or don’t act professionally.

So enough is enough, we need a big change in banking. While some banks do treat their customers better than others (in a Which? customer satisfaction survey, First Direct, Smile and the Co-operative Bank came out on top), there are systemic problems in the banking industry which require the Government to initiate a Big Change in banking culture.

Which?’s Big Change campaign calls on bankers to:

1. Put customers first, not sales
2. Meet professional standards and comply with a code of conduct
3. Be punished for mis-selling and bad practice.

If you agree with us that a Big Change in banking is needed, please sign our pledge. Click here to find out more.

"We're not greedy, we're scared for our jobs"

2012-10-19T08:00:00+00:00

Everyday we hear in the papers how the banks have made billions from selling products that their customers don't need or want. Its easy to forget that behind these figures are literally millions of lives which have been ruined.

As the Banking Standards Commission decides how to tackle the culture of aggressive sales practices by banks Move Your Money want to document the true cost of misselling.

Whether it's the bank workers forced to sell junk or face being fired, the families who have been pushed to the edge, or businesses which have gone under, we want to hear your stories.

A former bank worker, who has asked to remain anonymous, got in touch to explain why she’s never going back to the retail finance industry:

“I quit my job in the retail finance industry last year, and I am never going back. Here’s one of the reasons.

About a year after I joined the organization, it formed a relationship with another investment company, in order to 'offer a wider range of products to our customers’. I won’t mince my words: these products were crap. Everyone knew it. My bosses knew it, my customers knew it, I knew it. The returns offered were unimpressive, and the customer service provided by our partner organization was shocking.

The branch staffing structure changed, and I became a Customer Consultant. My job was to gain the trust of my customers, so they would buy what I recommended. I was trained in questioning techniques. I learned how to unsettle my customers in order to manipulate them. I was reminded that at least 30% of them ‘needed’ this hideous investment product, despite the growing list of unhappy and dissatisfied customers who had gone before. The targets grew and grew.

I must explain, I don’t have a problem with ‘selling’. When it is done well, it’s a pleasure for all parties. What offended me was that I had to work on my customers, get them to like me and trust me, and then twist their words into a need for the products I had to sell. I really, genuinely liked and even loved my customers, but it was my job to betray them.

A few months before I quit, a family I had become very close to came in to see me for advice about what to do with their savings of around £40k. I spent weeks working on them, eventually persuading them to invest the money. (I hated the product, but if I couldn’t find £50k a week to put into it I was in serious trouble). So, the £40k was invested and could not be withdrawn.

Shortly afterwards, one of the family was diagnosed with cancer, with little hope of recovery. He had been saving his money for later life, and I had manipulated him into putting it out of reach. I had ‘recommended’ a product I didn’t like, to someone I cared about, and quite possibly marred his last months with his family as a result.

This is just a tiny snapshot of what it was like working in retail finance, but I hope it illustrates how an aggressive sales culture can push good people to do awful things. We’re not greedy, we’re scared for our jobs.”

If you’ve been mis-sold a financial product by your bank, we want to hear about it. Let us know by emailing Jessica@moveyourmoney.org.uk

Student Unions step up to move their money

2012-10-16T09:00:00+00:00

Students have long led the way in calling for big companies to clean up their act, notably when the student boycott of Barclays in the 80s led to the bank pulling out of Apartheid South Africa.

It should come as no surprise that students unions are responding to the call to move your money. With twelve unions already with better banks, the NUS and Move Your Money UK are calling for more to move.

This National Ethical Investment, NUS have launched a campaign to encourage Unions to move their money.

Danielle Grufferty, NUS Vice-President (Society and Citizenship), said:

“Students have a long history of using our power as consumers to put pressure on big companies and bring about an end to unethical practices.

Young people are suffering because of an economic crisis that they did not create and moving our money is a simple way to demand better for banks in the future.

Just as students collectively worked together to boycott Barclays during the Apartheid era, it is vital that our unions are working to practice what we preach and that's why NUS is supporting this campaign.”

Danni Paffard, Campaigner at Move Your Money, said:

"This campaign looks to mobilise the millions of pounds that move through our Students’ Unions each year, and could have a significant impact on both the alternative banking sector and in galvanising the wider student movement.

Students are a key market for the big banks, who draw them in with short term offers in the hope of making serious money out of them in the long term. Statistics show that you're more
likely to get divorced than to move your bank account.

Move Your Money wants to change that, and we are delighted to be working in partnership with NUS to help students and their Unions lead the way.”

Among the Unions which have already moved to a better bank is University of East Anglia Students' Union, with a budget peaking at £2 million each year, who moved from Natwest to the Coop.

Rosie Rawle, Ethical Issues Officer at the University of East Anglia says:

“This decision was made because we believed that we needed to send a message to fossil-fuel investing banks. The RBS group should immediately stop funding carbon-intensive projects and ventures that destroy irreplaceable eco-systems and violate human rights. We as a student union refuse to allow our money to support these practices.

It is an action that we believe all staff, students and the university itself should follow, and hope this sparks a continued wave of consumer pressure to ditch dirty development.”

To read the guide for SUs moving their money, click here.

If you're a student and interested in finding out more about how to get your union to move to a better bank, get in touch on danni@moveyourmoney.org.uk.

National Ethical Investment Week is coming - and it's not just for investors

2012-10-07T23:00:00+00:00

Lately, the finance industry has been patting itself on the back. Despite the rapid approach of the 4 year anniversary of the financial crisis (which cost us £37bn in bailouts), the big banks have been congratulating themselves in style at events such as ‘The Banker Awards’.

So perhaps it’s time to have a little celebration ourselves. Next week is National Ethical Investment Week, reminding us that where we choose to keep our money can have major repercussions for our communities, our economy and our society. Ethical investing is not just for those with investment portfolios - everyone with a bank account can make a difference by moving your money to a better bank.

It could be easy to assume that ethical investment has little to do with you, or is an optional extra for people wanting to award themselves some brownie points. Where you keep your money is, fundamentally, a statement about what sort of financial system you want for the UK: one that fattens bankers’ bonuses while leaching credit from the real economy, or one that supports families, communities and small businesses. When you move your money to a local, mutual or ethical bank, you make a powerful vote for change, and support a growing sector that cares about public good rather than private profit.

Rachel Matthews, who recently moved her money from HSBC to the Cooperative, said:

I had been putting off moving my money, but I finally got around to doing some reserach and found that I could get much the same interest rates and better service with a more ethical bank, so there were no more excuses. I do not want to support a bank that doesn't pay its tax, and uses this money to support arms dealers and oppressive regimes.

Danni Paffard, Move Your Money UK spokesperson, said:

“National Ethical Investment Week is the ideal moment to take positive action for a better banking sector in the UK, and move your money. It should be the first step for anyone who wants to see a more ethical, balanced and fit-for-purpose banking sector.”

If you think this sounds like a good idea, talk to your friends and family too. 6 million people are part of the better banking sector: join them.

To find out where you can move your money to, click here.

Better Banking in Action: A Credit Union Open Day. Sat 6th October, Hackney

2012-10-05T23:00:00+00:00

As scandal after scandal blows up in the papers, and the behaviour of our big banks goes from bad to worse, it’s easy to get despondent about the state of our banking system and the colour of our money.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. There exist financial institutions that will look after your money, reinvest it responsibly, and support the economy and society we would like to see.

One such option are the Credit Unions. Little know in the UK, Credit Union are well established across much of the rest of the world, including America and Ireland.

As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, with a mandate to support their members and grounded locally, they represent a genuine people-focused alternative to the big banks. They are at the forefront of the fight against financial exclusion, keep money circulating locally, and we need to shout about them!

Move Your Money has teamed up with London Community Credit Union to bring you:

Better Banking in Action: A Credit Union Open Day

London Community Credit Union, Hackney Branch, 225 Mare Street, E8 3QE

Date: Saturday 6th October, Speakers 12.00-13.00*

Refreshments provided. Facebook Event.

** £10 for every new account opened on the day ** ID required.

This is an opportunity for anybody interested in the alternative local banking sector and wanting to find out more. Our exciting line-up of speakers will guide us through the history of the Credit Union movement, how Credit Unions work, what they do, and the important role they play in the community, especially in the current economic and poitical climate.

LCCU will also be launching it’s new ‘Credit Champions’ project, working to bring the Credit Union further into the local community and workplaces. Followed by tea and cake.

While politicians and regulators fail to come up with the goods, we can take action to make banking better. Since January 2012, MYM estimates that 50,000 people have joined the Credit Union network, taking membership to over one million.

If you live in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, or any of the surrounding boroughs, invite your friends, bring your family, and we’ll see you there. It’s time to change banks.

* The Credit Union will be open from 10:00 – 14:00 with live product demos and the opportunity to open a new account. Anybody living, working or studying in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, City of London, Islington, Haringey, Waltham Forest or Newham can become a member and open an account. Please bring proof of address (x2) and a piece of ID.

Speakers:

Sian Williams, Head of Financial Inclusion, Toynbee Hall

Setting the scene for Credit Unions in the UK - the great work they do, the challenges of Welfare Reform and opportunities ahead.

Stacy Mitchell, Senior Researcher, Institute of Local Self-Reliance

Sharing the inspiring story of the hugely successful US Credit Union movement.

Ian Moseley, Chairman LCCU - Introducing LCCU and it's story to date
Jonathan McShane, Hackney Councillor - LCCU in Hackney and supporting residents
Adam Farrell, Credit Champions Project - The Credit Champions project and how to get involved with your Credit Union
Danielle Paffard, Co-founder, Move Your Money UK - Move Your Money, and the value of action.

Guest Blog: does the growth of Peer-to-Peer signal a changing of the guard in the personal finance sector?

2012-09-18T08:00:00+00:00

Alex Gowar from leading p2p finance website RateSetter.com explains how consumers are waking up to the alternatives to traditional banking:

Another week, another blow for UK Savers. If it’s not a major banking scandal, it’s an announcement from the Bank of England that interest rates will remain at the current historic low of 0.5%. This week, data from MoneyFacts.co.uk showed that just 1 in 5 high street savings accounts will cover the costs of inflation. No wonder so few households even bother to save.

Looking through the MoveYourMoney blog I can see that I’m not alone in believing that consumer trust and confidence in traditional banking is currently being severely tested. In this context, it is perhaps unsurprising that we find ourselves in the midst of a personal finance revolution where consumers are increasingly on the lookout for viable alternatives to traditional high street banks, which show no interest in offering value.

At the heart of this revolution is peer-to-peer finance. For the uninitiated, peer-to-peer lending is simply banking without bankers: operators provide a marketplace in which consumer borrowers are matched up directly with savers looking for a better deal. Although peer-to-peer has been around since 2006, the last year has seen huge adoption as borrowers and savers increasingly hunt for better deals. This is recognition that there are credible alternatives available to savers that offer safe and highly competitive returns on hard earned cash. At RateSetter.com, savers can lend for as little as one month at an AER of 3.3%, up to a “5 Year Income” returning 7.2% after fees.

The thorn in peer-to-peer’s side has always been defaults– what happens if the person I am lending my money to cannot repay? The three main providers, RateSetter.com, Zopa and Funding Circle, have approached the issue of bad debt from different angles, though all undertake similar stringent credit checks to ensure only worthy borrowers are approved. RateSetter believes it has cracked the nut of bad debt via a unique ‘Provision Fund’. The Provision Fund is a pool of money from borrower fees which compensates lenders should a late payment, or default, occur. It gives legitimacy to RateSetter’s claim of being the simplest and safest peer-to-peer operator: in fact, RateSetter is the only peer-to-peer operator in the world to justifiably claim that every single lender has received every penny of capital and interest.

Commitment to protecting Savers is what led RateSetter, along with Zopa and Funding Circle to establish the P2P Finance Association. This self-regulatory trade body aims to protect consumers by promoting best practice within the sector. These guidelines can help forge a path to new regulation governing the sector, an issue that needs to be addressed if current growth continues. And there’s no reason to suggest that growth should slow, as economic commentators have recently been far more vocal in talking up peer-to-peer as an alternative to traditional banking systems. Indeed, Director of Financial Stability at the Bank of England Andy Haldane recently suggested that peer-to-peer finance companies could one day disrupt high street banks in the same way as the Googles of the world have changed the face of retail.

Will grand statements like these worry the big boys of banking? Probably not, they’ve got a lot on their plate at the moment. But in many ways peer-to-peer represents a return to old fashioned principles of banking that seem to have gone awry in recent years: a prudent approach to risk, putting customers first, and delivering great value. Food, perhaps, for thought.

Payment to rip-off customers: the Commission Scandal

2012-09-05T23:00:00+00:00

The FSA report out yesterday revealed the role of commission-based sales in driving the aggressive sales culture that has contributed to the recent slew of mis-selling scandals such as PPI and interest rate swaps.

It's clear that if you pay bank workers a pittance, forcing them to top up their salaries with commissions, than customers are going to suffer. Martin Wheatley, FSA managing director, told the BBC that some incentive schemes seemed "guaranteed to give the wrong outcome for the customer".

Lloyds banking group, where up to 40% of staff received bonuses for selling extra products to customers, have been referred to the Enforcement and Financial Crime Division.

J C Willis, a former HBOS worker, said of his experience working on the cut throat sales floor:

'Front line staff complained about the sales culture. They tried to tell senior managers that the targets were too high, their jobs were too stressful and the lack of focus on service was driving good customers away. Everything we said fell on deaf ears.'

While we welcome the action to 'clamp down' on this behaviour from the FSA, we’ve seen banks wriggle around regulation too many times. We need a fundamental shift in the culture of our banks, and an engaged customer base that holds them to account.

It’s time to change banks.

Building Societies on the Up and Up!

2012-08-30T15:00:00+00:00

What a great day for Building Societies, with new research from the BSA showing both lending activity and deposits going up, and a considerable jump in customer service ratings across the mutual sector.

The BSA says “In just three months, consumer views of the service they receive from banks and building societies have swung markedly in favour of building societies and other mutual lenders and deposit takers.”

A new question concerning ethics found 62% of customers agreed that mutuals had high ethical standards, and the leap ahead of plc banks on all customer service factors has been marked.

Hilary McVitty says of the last three months “We were rather taken aback by the degree of movement. Strong feelings are clearly being expressed here by consumers.”

With the scandals engulfing our big banks these last few months – from computer meltdown to Libor to misselling PPI to laundering money to drugs cartels and terrorists – we can’t say we’re surprised!

For many people, the recent run of scandals has been the final straw for their relationship with the big banks, and we’ve seen a huge wave of customers moving their money.

Adrian Coles, Director-General of the Building Societies Association, says “Mutuals are currently enjoying a sustained increase in lending activity, and an increase in deposits from savers.”

During a month where bank lending fell by 9%, gross lending by mutuals rose by 44%. This follows a strong year on year trend, and takes market share of mutuals up to 24%.

Go the mutuals!

Barclays: Top of class in the school for scandal

2012-08-30T12:00:00+00:00

Barclays under investigation by Serious Fraud Office over payments to Qatar sovereign wealth fund

The serious fraud office has confirmed that it has opened investigations concerning payments from Barclays to the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund the bank turned to in 2008 to avoid being bailed out by the UK taxpayer.

Danni Paffard, spokesperson for Move Your Money UK said:

"Barclays have been at the forefront of every scandal from PPI, to Libor, to the unrelenting bonus culture. Amidst this, Bob Diamond has stood in front of the Parliamentary Committee and defended the strength and integrity of the bank through its ability to raise money through Qatari wealth funds, instead of taking a taxpayer bailout.

Now these very same transactions are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, the banks integrity is again under question. As Barclays continues to ride rough shod over the law, disgruntled customers need to say 'enough is enough' to the worst of the British Banks."

Barclays announces new Chief Exec Antony Jenkins

Barclays has announced the appointment of Antony Jenkins, formerly in charge of consumer banking, as Chief Executive following resignation of Bob Diamond over Libor scandal

Danni Paffard, spokesperson for Move Your Money said:

"Barclays has simply swapped one of its senior bankers for another. The fact that they have appointed a prominent retail banker, Antony Jenkins, as Chief Executive is nothing more than a cynical move to make this change seem more significant than it is. This will do nothing to change the DNA of an organisation repeatedly caught pursuing short term profit at all cost, regardless of its customers or the law.

Ultimately, cultural change comes from the bottom up not from the boardroom, thats why its up to consumers to fix our broken banking system by moving their money out of banks like Barclays."

Co-operate - the Move Your Money app!

2012-08-28T08:00:00+00:00

It's time to move your money - and now there's an app to help you! Thanks to Co-operatives UK new app 'Co-operate' you can find co-operatives and mutuals near you.

Find the local credit union, co-operative and mutual bank to you, take part in this months challenge and get your money moving today!

The Co-operate app makes it easy for you to find co-operative and mutuals across the UK. Whether you need food or phones, electricity or banking. Co-operate allows you to download a better world to your mobile phone.

Download Co-operate on iPhone or Android, for free, to find your local credit union, co-operative or mutual banks and take part in this month's challenge. When the challenge is met then rewards will be released to the device used to complete the challenge.

The Move Your Money Challenge

Unlock co-operative vouchers in three simple steps:

1. Find your local credit union, Co-operative Bank or building society using Co-operate

2. Check-in to as many credit unions, Co-operative Banks or building societies using Co-operate as you can

3. Share the challenge and work together to achieve monthly targets and release awards

Each month there will be a cumulative target umber of ‘check-ins’ to reach. Users are encouraged to share the challenge and raise awareness so they hit the target sooner.

The challenge will run until the 15 September, so ensure you check-in to as many co-operatives featured on Co-operate to unlock your vouchers! For more details download Co-operate.

Move Your Money UK is hiring! - deadline extended

2012-08-26T09:00:00+00:00

Move Your Money UK is recruiting a Campaign Manager, to help take this campaign from strength to strength, build on our success so far, and give us the organisational oomph we need to spread the Move Your Money message throughout the UK.

Read all about it and apply now!

Move Your Money UK is a national campaign launched in February this year to raise awareness of alternative banking and encourage people to move their money from the big banks to local, mutual and ethical financial institutions. Since our launch we've built an impressive profile in national press, among the alternative finance sector, and on social media. Anger at the broken and unfair banking sector is at an all-time high and there has never been a better time for a Move Your Money campaign.

As we enter an exciting new phase of our development, we are seeking a Campaign Manager to take the movement to the next level. We need a sharp organiser, a passionate campaigner and a confident communicator to make the most of Move Your Money's enormous potential. This is a great opportunity for someone with initiative to grow a campaign that will have a direct and significant impact on social justice in the UK.

This role requires strong project management skills, and experience managing a team and a tight budget. Fundraising experience is hugely helpful. But most important is your ability to take the initiative, work independently and cooperate well in a dedicated, passionate and diverse team running a fast paced, news-driven campaign.

Closing date: Please return the completed application form by 5pm on 7th September.

Job Description

Application form

Great banking services don't have to cost the earth

2012-08-08T11:00:00+00:00

I'd always thought that I was happy with my bank. When I opened my HSBC student account in 1998 they gave me a nice big overdraft, a credit card and even £60 in cash. After I graduated they offered me a fantastic rate on a graduate loan and a couple of season tickets for the football. A year or so later, when I started to struggle with the repayments, they helped me consolidate once more - and gave me another season ticket.

They were willing to lend me money that I'd convinced myself would be nigh on impossible to obtain and they even showed me how to budget and manage my personal finances. I didn't spare a thought to where this money was coming from. After all, banks are there to lend you money, aren't they?

Jump forward a few years to when the last general election was approaching and I started taking a serious interest in politics for the first time. I started to garner a vague understanding of the banking crisis, albeit mainly through newspaper headlines and sensationalist media reporting. Friends alerted me to the links between arms dealers and the major banks and as I did my own research I started to see through the spin. The bonus culture in particular sickened me.

Then in August 2011, the news that HSBC was to cut 30,000 jobs despite a rise in pre-tax profits (but still rewarding their bosses with obscene bonuses) was the final straw. I started researching better places to put my money and stumbled across Move Your Money UK on Twitter. I read through the options and finally settled on the Co-operative bank as an alternative. Moving my money was straightforward and the Co-operative even offered to do the legwork in transferring direct debits. In fact it took only a half-hour visit to the branch and in hindsight I wish I had done this earlier.

During this time I also took out a business bank account for my newly-formed social enterprise Sweet Opportunity. I looked at the available options including Triodos and my local credit union, but in the end I decided to set up my business account with the Co-operative Bank too. As well as free business banking for social enterprises, the standard of service thus far has been impeccable.

However, I still had the tricky problem of a £1400 personal overdraft with HSBC, and no regular income with which to pay it off. At this point I remembered something else: Whilst I'd been taking out those post-graduation loans, the sneaky advisor had added Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) without telling me. I read how to reclaim this money (that had been illegally taken from me) on MoneySavingExpert.com. The process is free and you have nothing to lose. The form took around half an hour to complete and once I'd sent it I sat back and waited, bracing myself for an inevitable battle.

Three weeks later a letter dropped through my door. When I opened the envelope my legs gave way with shock. Not only had they approved my claim, but they had taken into account all my previous loans AND applied interest since 2002. In total I was awarded nearly £6000. I immediately contacted the Co-operative Bank to transfer my direct debits over from HSBC.

Not only am I now debt-free for the first time in my life, but my conscience is clear. I've also opened a credit union savings account to make sure that my money is being used in support of the local economy - not funding arms dealers or fat cat bonuses.

The fact that the switch was so simple and that I am still enjoying the same high quality of service that my old bank provided is proof that we can bank ethically without having to compromise the quality of facilities that we receive.

Guy Walsh

Guy Walsh Enterprise Services –www.aguynamedguy.co.uk
Sweet Opportunity –www.sweetopportunity.co.uk

Press Release: Standard Chartered - Corruption the standard at 'rogue institution'

2012-08-07T09:00:00+00:00

Following hot on the heels of a US Senate inquiry into money laundering at HSBC, US regulators have landed yet another crippling blow to the shredded reputation of the City of London and its failed regulators.

It has been revealed that Standard Chartered, a global bank based in London, have been systematically falsifying records to hide transfers involving Iranian banks worth over $250 billion, in order to evade US economic sanctions in what has been described as a ‘staggering cover up.’

Standard Chartered now risks having its US banking license revoked.

Move Your Money UK spokesperson Louis Brooke said:

"First HSBC and now Standard Chartered, it is clear that laundering money for oppressive regimes, terrorists and organized crime is bread and butter business for the big banks.

They have shamelessly flouted the law, deceived regulators and broken some of the most fundamental of moral principles.

Politicians can call a change in the culture of our banking industry but that wont come without a change in their business models and the structure of the industry itself.”

The Standard Chartered scandal comes barely a fortnight after it emerged HSBC and its many subsidiaries in offshore tax havens have been courting and laundering money from known terrorist organisations and regimes, including Syria, Iran and Russia, not to mention Mexican drug lords.

The continuing barrage of scandals involving British banks is likely to strengthen calls for a full independent enquiry into the sector. The current Parliamentary enquiry led by Andrew Tyrie MP has already been labeled a whitewash with the exclusion of critical figures including Andrea Leadsom MP.

Guess Who's Back in Business? Big Banks Announce £15bn Worth of Profits

2012-08-05T08:20:00+00:00

Imagine a small village – possibly somewhere off the M1. Food is provided from village farms, finances are dealt with by the local bank, and, typically, everyone knows each other. If the butcher started watching too much Agatha Christie and began poisoning all their food, or the bank started to mis-sell to its customers or (worst still) invest in inorganic farms in the neighbouring village, you would expect them to be severely reprimanded and probably taken out of business.

The feeling of being personally and unjustly affected would make these actions completely unacceptable to the village. Where would be the sense of community and togetherness?

Zoom out from that village and into the hard realities of this life, and It’s a Wonderful Life-esque images seem not to exist. This week the five big banks have been announcing their first-half of the year profits.

HSBC have made a $12.7bn profit since January – up $1.3bn on last year. Barclay’s profits have risen by 13% to £4.2bn. Santander’s income has risen by 8.4%. Lloyds have seen a pre-tax profit of £1.03bn. Meanwhile, the investment arm of RBS has just announced profits of £1bn with the high street division making £2bn.

These are the very same banks that have miss-sold PPIs, engaged in interest rate rigging, and engineered such a lax surveillance system that money laundering could carry on right under their noses. These banks have committed criminal activities of the highest order, and yet continue to make profit upon illegal profit, with little or no legal consequence. This wouldn’t happen in the Vicar of Dibley.

Why are the banks allowed to carry on like this? Part of the reason seems to be the feeling that we the public are powerless against the amorphous shape of the banking industry – banks are larger and more detached than they would be in a small village community. IpsosMori’s research into the banking crisis found that just 20% of people feel that there was something they could have personally done to prevent the collapse in 2008 – like switching banks. If the very people who are unwittingly complicit in the banks activities (by holding current and savings accounts) do not believe that they can affect the banks behaviour, then it is not going to be an easy task to shift the ground from under the banks’ feet.

Empowering people and making them realize that they can have an influence is the goal of the Move Your Money campaign.

Within the High Street banks there is a sense of an abdication of responsibility. Changing the way the banking industry works is not something that one person can do individually on a rainy afternoon. Although moving your money plays a significant part in the process of creating change, that change still needs to be implemented.

Currently we are looking to government to do this but this increasingly seems like a futile exercise. Especially when we consider that political parties receive the majority of party funding from the banks. Government have dished out fines to the banks for their recent behaviour, but the scale of profits that the banks have been announcing prove that monetary punishments alone are doing little to the curb their behaviour.

Why? Firstly, because treating the symptoms not the cause is no way to create lasting change. Secondly, the fines are as small in comparison to the banks profits as my feet are compared to those of Michael Phelps. HSBC, for instance, have set aside $2bn to pay back mis-sold PPIs and for the likely fines that they will incur from the money laundering scandal. The profits they made in the first 6 months of this year reached $12.7bn. The fines that they have incurred, therefore, for years of misdeeds only amounts to 15% of their profits from 6 months of trading – hardly enough to encourage behavioural change.

Finally, there is an interesting dichotomy between the ways that people perceive punishment (not a word I personally like to hear too often). Research suggests that 80% of the British public think criminal sentences are too short. Two thirds believe that reoffending occurs because prison sentences are too short or too easy. There is a cultural belief that punishment breeds better behaviour. Personally I do not subscribe to such a view but it is revealing that there is such a dichotomy between enforcing social justice onto, say young offenders, and letting the wealthy and successful off with a bit of a public embarrassment and their finances and lifestyle still largely intact.

Crime is seen through a lens of knives, gangs, and guns – not illegal activities amongst white collar criminals and big business. The media are complicit in creating this image and fear of crime by giving us wall-to-wall stories of criminal activity. What seems to be of less interest are the finer details of the unlawful and unjust activities continuously practiced by the big banks which are globally systemic, and infinitely more destructive.

As seen by the recent profit announcements – banks are allowed to continue with business as usual by the mainstream media, without facing the threat of sustained scrutiny, or regulatory reform.

Back in our imaginary village everyone would see the personal affects of illegal or unethical banking activities and would make sure that they were not allowed to continue. What we need is a national effort to demand financial reform.

Punishments and fines are not the way to do this however. Like an offender who is encouraged to see the world from a different perspective, we too need to promote the image of an alternative ethical financial system and push for holistic reforms.

As Ghandi famously remarked: ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’. Move Your Money, tell all your friends, and lend your voice to the growing chorus demanding financial sector reform.

Guest Blog: Ethical finance works. But don't take our word for it...

2012-07-29T13:00:00+00:00

It might be anger at the dishonesty of the LIBOR fixers. It might be unease at the thought your money could be funding things that don't fit with your values. It might be frustration with indifferent customer service. The arguments for moving your money are clear. But sometimes arguments aren't enough: how you manage your money is a very personal decision.

At Ecology Building Society, people are central to what we do. We connect individuals who want to save ethically with borrowers who want to make a positive difference in the world – and we make sure we treat everyone fairly in the process. So who better to tell the story of ethical finance than our members?

Take Pam and Peter, who have saved with Ecology since our beginnings in the 1980s. They chose to save in line with their belief in living sustainably and they wanted to ensure none of their money supported oppressive regimes or the arms trade. As Peter puts it, “I wanted our money to go to help the earth and the people on it”.

Pam and Peter's money supports projects like Bishop's Castle Community Land Trust, a project in Shropshire to provide affordable, sustainable homes for local people, allotments and premises for new businesses. The project has proven to local people that they can make a difference in their community and has created a strong sense of local ownership.

Or take Andrew, who joined Ecology as a saver because he wants to support innovative projects that benefit the environment. Andrew had heard good things about Ecology through friends, and when he joined Ecology he found he became part of a vibrant community: “I've never doubted my decision to invest with Ecology. I've found a good fit with like-minded folk and made new friends along the way”.

Andrew's money supports projects like Sue's sustainable home. Sue wanted to build an eco-friendly house that would provide a 'home for life' for herself, her husband and her mother. With our support, she built a wheelchair-friendly, energy efficient property with a low maintenance garden and a living roof. Sue says, “Without Ecology, we would not have been able to undertake the build that has been a dream for many years”.

These aren't personas dreamt up by a marketing agency: they're real people who want to share their story so that other people will be inspired to join our community. They're part of a movement of people who believe that money is a means to creating a better future – not an end in itself. You can find them all, and others here. What will your story be?

Anna Laycock, communications and research manager at Ecology Building Society

If we want to tackle tax avoidance we have to get heavy with the banks who make it happen

2012-07-24T11:00:00+00:00

A report by James Henry, formerly of Mckinsey’s, the IMF and the World Bank, has shown that the global elite hoard up to £21 trillion pounds in offshore tax havens, reigniting debate surrounding the morality and legality of tax avoidance by the super rich.

Details of the offshore hoardings come as the Government announce new plans to ‘name and shame’ individuals participating in tax evasion.

Move Your Money welcomes genuine attempts to close the ‘tax gap’ and recoup monies from wealthy individuals who all too often slip through the tax mans noose. However, if we are to serious about tackling tax avoidance we have to come down heavy on the banks that make it possible as well as the individuals involved. Move Your Money UK spokesperson Louis Brooke said:

“Banks are the railroad tracks on which the global tax avoidance train runs. Banks like Barclays make no bones about being in the business of helping the super rich and big corporates avoid tax.

Its banks which structure the schemes, banks which offer places to hide the money andmove the money between a myriad of subsidiary companies in offshore tax havens”

The Government announcement also comes barely a month after tax department HMRC announced plans to slash a further 10,000 jobs, in a move sparking industrial action by PCS union. Commentators are openly questioning how the Government can claim to be getting tough on tax on the one hand, and overseeing debilitating cuts to HMRC on the other, cuts which threaten the collection of more than £1.1billion in tax receipts.

Recent work by the Tax Justice Network and UK Uncut has exposed the rampant culture of corporate tax evasion in the UK, with legal proceedings against Goldman Sachs and HMRC, exposing the millions (and in some cases such as Vodafone, billions) of pounds in unpaid corporate taxes to the full glare of public scrutiny.

It is the ordinary working citizen who must make up this deficit, and suffer the increasing pain of austerity and higher taxes to offset the champagne lifestyles of the globetrotting, tax-dodging elite.

With Governments ability to crack down on tax evasion severely compromised by financial sector lobbying, and party donations from the major banks we need to take personal action by moving our money out the big banks who are profiting by swindling ordinary taxpayers.

The simple but powerful act of moving your money to an ethical, local or mutual financial is one way we can all help create a fairer and more just financial system.

Half a Million People Have Already Moved their Money. Join them.

2012-07-18T11:00:00+00:00

In February 2012 Move Your Money UK began to raise awareness about the local, mutual and ethical alternatives to the big 5 banks. While the banks have failed to learn lessons from the devastating crash of 2008 - scandals are just escalating – and the government and regulators have yet to take appropriate action, more and more people are discovering that they have the power to change the banking system by voting with their feet.

Since January 2012 Move Your Money estimates that 500,000 people have switched their current accounts to ethical alternatives such as Co-ops and mutuals.

Building societies such as Ecology have reported up to a massive 266% increase in website visits compared to 2011 and Zopa has seen funding from lenders increase by 56%.

The Charity Bank has reported a 200% increase in new customers during the first six months of 2012 compared to last year.

Move Your Money estimates that 50,000 people have joined one of the UK’s credit unions since January, taking their membership levels to over one million.

For many, the scandals of the last few weeks – crippling computer malfunction, the manipulating of Libor rates, mass international money laundering and mis-selling products to small businesses – have been the final straw.

In the same week that the Libor scandal hit, Triodos Bank saw a 300% increase in the number of online applications whilst Nationwide witnessed an increase of 85% in online applications. And in the first few weeks of July there has been a 61% increase in the number of people requesting to switch to the Co-operative.

Move Your Money has played a significant role in getting the message out there about local, mutual and ethical financial alternatives – a message which is now being repeated, re-tweeted, and re-posted in the mainstream media. We have seen a 15 fold increase in web traffic in recent weeks as people across the country look to the alternative.

Support has come from Tim Walker in The Independent, from Zoe Williams and Deborah Orr in The Guardian, and from TV and radio presenter Vanessa Feltz, whilst Channel 4 news has also provided positive coverage of the movement. The message has been further popularized by appearances from Move Your Money spokespeople on television shows such as Newsnight, Daybreak, and The One Show.

By moving their money these customers are not only sending a message to the Fat Cats in the City that business as usual is not going to be tolerated anymore, they are also using their money to invest in projects that improve our environment and our communities.

So join the 500,000 Britons who have already taken action, and pledge to Move Your Money today!

Move Your Money UK launches a campaign to help businesses switch to socially responsible banks

2012-07-17T15:00:00+00:00

After the surge in individuals moving their money out of the big banks, Move Your Money UK is calling for businesses to move their money to more ethical and socially responsible banks too. A number of businesses are already taking action.

Premises CEO Viv Broughton and MD Julia Craik taking a stand against Barclays last Friday

The Hackney based business Premises Studios Ltd, a world famous studio complex, used by hundreds of stars such as Ronnie Wood, Ben E. King, Macy Gray and Madness, is moving its money out of Barclays. Julia Craik, Managing Director of says:

“As a business we’ve always done what we can to act responsibly and we’ve decided that banking with Barclays is no longer a viable option for us. We won’t be associated with a corporation that appears to act in such a corrupt and fraudulent manner, so we’re off! We believe this is the best way to force change in the financial sector, as leaving it to the courts of justice and the government just isn’t working."

The Premises Studios estimates its turnover at around £500k per annum and as Julia Craik points out “If just 100 small businesses with cashflow similar to ours leave their banks then the banks will lose businesses with an annual turnover of £50 million – that’s going to hurt”.

Move Your Money spokesperson, Marloes Nicholls, said: “Businesses have suffered massively since the financial crisis, caused by the reckless behaviour of the banks, and now many are struggling to gain access to loans. The recent banking scandals, including the mis-selling of rate hedging, are a last straw, clearly demonstrating that the big banks have no care to support the real economy; that’s why businesses are moving out of the Big 5 to banks that support the UK economy, and which will provide the services they need.”

Judith Leary-Joyce, CEO of Great Companies Consulting, came across Charity Bank when she was looking for a safe, competitive bank for the company’s finances. She opened an account with them about six months ago.

“I was fed up with the high street banks and wanted a safe place to bank with for GCC,” said Leary-Joyce. “Charity Bank’s values and principles matched my own and those of the business and their rates were competitive. It also felt safer to keep the business’ money with Charity Bank than with a business account at one of the bigger high street banks. “

“I am treated like a person with Charity Bank, not just a business or a number – they are available when I need them and my account manager answers questions when I have them. I moved GCC’s money to Charity Bank for its security and values and will stay for these reasons – as well as the excellent customer service.”

The Premises are moving to Triodos Bank: Charles Middleton, Managing Director Triodos UK says: “We believe that money can be used consciously to support social and environmental change for the benefit of all. We were delighted to support the Premises with their solar powered studio and are even more delighted that they and many others are now thinking about the power of their money to make a positive impact.” Lisa Stanley, Head of Communications at Triodos Bank, reports that "New business accounts (savings and current accounts) opened are more than treble what they were for the same period (Dec– June) last year."

Malcolm Hayday, chief executive of Charity Bank: “At Charity Bank we provide businesses with term and notice savings accounts. As well as earning interest our customers are also contributing to society. That’s because savings are used to support charities and community organisations that are making a positive difference to people and communities.”

Whilst Triodos and Charity Bank represent two of the options available to businesses, there are many others, and Move Your Money UK will be working over the summer to help businesses, charities, local authorities, and other organisations to move their money too.

Are you a business interested in moving your money? Pledge to move it now here!

Guest blog: We should not condemn finance

2012-07-06T16:42:00+00:00

The financial system is not working in the way it should. And we should condemn the bad banking practices, especially those arising within Canary Wharf, where people live and work in a way that is totally divorced from everyday life.

BUT we should not condemn finance, rather we should reclaim it for the common good (remember banking for the common good?). If used responsibly finance is one of the most powerful tools we have for addressing our common problems and increasing our wellbeing.

Financial innovation has brought us insurance, microfinance, mortgages, pensions, savings accounts – all of which, when not mis-sold, have contributed to the good of society. We need more responsible innovation, not less, so that we can re-channel financial creativity for the common good.

Right now finance has come to be seen as the manipulation of money for short term gain or the management of risk. We need to see it once again as the stewardship of society’s assets – not just personal wealth – but that of society as a whole.

Malcolm Hayday, Chief Executive of Charity Bank

Guest Blog: Ethical Bank Calls on Financial Opaqueness

2012-07-05T07:25:00+00:00

Charles Middleton, UK managing director at Triodos Bank, comments on last week’s UK banking crisis:

‘Last week’s events have highlighted very clearly the extent to which something is rotten in the state of UK banking. We’ve only seen the very tip of the iceberg, and the coming weeks will see other banks implicated in ‘Liborgate’ and no doubt other financial scandals too. Such events reveal something more fundamental about the underlying culture inside these banks – and it is this that needs to change. ‘People are becoming aware of the inherently unsustainable nature of the UK’s banking system, recognising established banks as opaque, irresponsible and with little regard for the trust and money their savers place with them.

‘Customers who have put their trust in these banks for many years have asked few questions about what happens to their money once it’s deposited. They are now left smarting at the realisation that their hard-earned money is being used to gamble on the money markets, fund large executive bonuses, or engage in risky and complex financial transactions at their expense.

‘I think it is now clear that banking customers have had enough and are making it known that there has to be a fundamental change to the established banking system.

‘Many people are now asking for a return to traditional banking as a solution for Britain’s banking system. Traditional banking does not have to be boring banking – in fact traditional banking, in the form of socially useful banking, is a genuine and exciting alternative for a sustainable financial future.

‘Now that people are prompted to think more consciously about their money and realise its potential to do good or bad, things will start to change. Switching current accounts is all very well, but the power for people to really effect change in the banking system lies in what people do with their savings. If people moved their savings away from banks who say very little about what happens to their money once invested, to banks that in fact do the opposite and make a virtue of telling depositors how their savings are being used, UK banks would have to sit up and take notice. They would no longer have the financial support to be able to do all these things that have got them into the mess they are now in.

‘At Triodos Bank we take pride in doing things differently. We offer straightforward banking with a high quality of service and will always tell our savers what we are doing with their money. We think this straightforward model is the way banking should be.

‘A fair profit, a strong capital base and a stable funding base from savers’ deposits are integral parts of our approach. As such we have no need to engage in the wholesale markets and will never lend out more than we have on deposit. Nor do we make use of derivatives and other complex financial instruments that can put savers’ money at risk. Our shares are not listed on any stock exchange to ensure we don’t become diverted from our sustainable banking mission in the drive for a fast profit or negatively impacted by the vagaries of market sentiment. ‘At the core of our banking, we are directly connected to the real economy, only financing sustainable businesses delivering clear social, environmental and cultural benefits with a lasting positive impact.’

Research from Triodos Bank* found almost nine million (18%) customers would not recommend their current bank to family and friends. 40% would not recommend their bank due to poor service, and 24% blame the bank’s hefty bonus practice as a reason to not recommend it. 18% won’t advocate their bank because of its excessive profits and 30% claim it is because their bank doesn’t treat them as an individual.

The research also shows that it is not only events such as last week’s, poor customer service, or excessive bonuses that are beginning to change people’s views; people do care about how their money is used. 12% of those who would not recommend their bank said this is because of its lack of lending support to UK businesses.

With UK banks due to reveal their half year financial performance at the end of July, figures also reveal how values-based banks such as Triodos have outperformed more established banks when it comes to their balance sheets. The report** showed values-based banks have higher levels of, and better quality, capital, with an average BIS1 Ratio of 14% over three years compared to less than 10% among mainstream banks, and an average Equity/Asset ratio of more than 9% compared to less than 5% at mainstream banks.

Middleton added: ‘It’s not only in the UK that we are seeing starting to unprecedented interest in sustainable banking. Recent events in Europe have lead to vast numbers of Europeans switching to Triodos and other ethical, sustainable banks. In fact, following the Spanish banks bailout our branch in Spain was overwhelmed, doubling new customers in a single month. Triodos Bank group is also seeing record inflows, with €105m net inflows to customer accounts – a 2.5% increase for May 2012 alone.

Triodos Bank has seen its income, balance sheet, net profit and assets under management grow steadily over 2011 and into this year. Over two decades the bank has built assets under management of 6.8 billion Euros, and growth of 20% per year, delivering a consistent profit. It has around 22,000 loans to sustainable businesses such as Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage, Ecotricity, Cafedirect, and Glastonbury’s Worthy Farm in the UK, and has welcomed more than 350,000 customers across its operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Germany.

Middleton concluded: ‘At last people are beginning to wake up to the fact that there are credible alternatives to the established financial system, and that they can get a social and environmental return on their money, as well a decent financial return.

In contrast to the opaqueness of the mainstream banks, Triodos publishes details of everyone it lends to via its website.

MYM on Daybreak!

2012-07-05T05:50:00+00:00

You can watch Louis from Move Your Money discussing the campaign on Daybreak this morning. He was on at 6.40am, which is at about 36 minutes on this iPlayer link: http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=320361

Response to Diamond interview: Banking scandal turning into a political crisis

2012-07-04T17:20:00+00:00

Today Bob Diamond, who has recently stepped down as CEO of Barclays, appeared in front of Parliament to answer questions about revelations that the bank was fixing interest rates.

Louis Brooke, spokesperson for Move Your Money (1), a campaign calling on people to leave the big banks, said:

“This banking scandal is swiftly turning into a political crisis. This past week has not only destroyed consumers' trust, not only in the banks but also in the establishment tasked with protecting the public interest."

Bob Diamond appeared to say that the Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker, did not lean on Barclays to post lower interest rates.

However Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie, was doubtful that Tucker’s note to Diamond saying that Barclays Libor postings ‘did not need to be so high’ could be interpreted as anything other than ‘a wink and a nod’ to lower it.

Louis Brooke continued:

“The concentration of wealth and power in four big banks has been bad for customers, bad for business and bad for Britain. (2)

It has also had a corrosive effect on the entire political establishment who have been compelled to go to any lengths to prop up the too big to fail banks irrespective of how depraved their behaviour has become

Politicians seem intent on point scoring rather than finding a meaningful solution to our broken banking system. That’s why the public are taking matters into their own hands and moving their money."

Move Your Money UK is a campaign group run by volunteers, calling on people to move their money out of the big banks and into alternatives such as building societies, credit unions, the cooperatives and ethical

The Move Your Money movement first took the US by storm with over 10 million Americans moving their money out of the big banks.

Since last week Move Your Money UK has seen a fifteen-fold increase in web-hits. At the same time, mutuals such as building societies and The Co-operative have reported massive increases in enquiries.

Press enquiries: 077725 461 679

press@moveyourmoney.org.uk

Twitter: @moveyourmoneyuk

Notes:

1. MYM has been the leading civil society voice criticising bad practice in the banking sector. Their website provides the resources for disgruntled customers to move their savings out of the big four banks and into more ethical institutions.

2. Recent surveys show that customers have lost trust in the big banks, and are increasingly likely to move their money:

Have you sent a #ByeBarclays message?

2012-07-04T12:35:00+00:00

Bob Diamond is saying Bye to Barclays - and we think this is the first time he's setting an example that we should follow!

Click here to check out some of the messages Move Your Money campaigners sent this morning.

This afternoon the politicians wil get their chance to talk to Bob - but even more important is that he hears the views of ordinary bank users should get their chance. So if you want to send a message to Bob, Barclays, or the other big banks, either tweet with the #ByeBarclays hashtag or send a message with the Move Your Money post-its below!

To send a post-it:

1) Download and print the #ByeBarclays post-it from our Facebook page 2) Write your message to the bankers in the middle 3) Take a photo of yourself with the sign 4) Send it to us via email, Facebook or Twitter at: contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk, http://www.facebook.com/MoveYourMoney OR @moveyourmoneyUK

Barclays Flashmob Tomorrow

2012-07-03T13:40:00+00:00

Join us at the Bye Bob, #ByeBarclays Flashmob TOMORROW.

Time: 8.45am Wednesday 3rd July

Place: Barclays Bank, 2 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ND

Sign up here! https://www.facebook.com/events/254547607989467/255033407940887/

On Wednesday morning Bob Diamond will be in Parliament facing the Treasury Select Committee.

Bob has shown that Diamond's aren't forever by announcing his resignation, join us just down the road from Parliament as we too say goodbye to Barclays.

The last couple of weeks have confirmed what we already knew: the banking system isn't working for us.

We want to send a strong message to Barclays and the other big banks that we no longer trust them with our money, and that four years after the banking crisis, we won't leave it to the politicians to solve this mess.

We will be withdrawing our money from the bank to show that we don't trust them with our savings, and covering the bank with our messages to the bankers and politicians.

Don't worry if you're not a Barclays' customer, everyone who is disgruntled with the banks is welcome to this event!

It is up to us to hold the bankers to account and to create a better banking system, one which works for all of us. Don't wait for the bankers and the politicians, they're all in it together. We have the power to make change happen. It's time to Move Your Money.

Don't be distracted by Diamonds...

2012-07-03T13:30:00+00:00

Clearly it’s only right that Bob Diamond resigned this morning following the revelation that Barclays had been lying about Libor to protect itself from losses and pump up its profits.

Both those who committed crimes and the executives responsible for overseeing them have to take personal responsibility for the disgraceful behaviour of the bank, and where appropriate, face criminal prosecution.

However, a couple of CEOs falling on their swords *must not distract us* from the urgent task at hand of reforming our banking system. The fact that nearly every other high street bank, a number of senior politicians, the British Bankers Association and the Bank of England have became embroiled in this scandal demonstrates that this is not the fault of Bob Diamond alone, but of systemic failure throughout the banking system.

As consumers the first and most important action we can take in response is to move our money out of the big banks. Given recent revelations, perhaps the relevant question is whether can we afford not to?

George Osborne has announced a parliamentary inquiry into banking. However the inquiry falls well short, in terms of both scope and powers, of the full judicial inquiry demanded by the New Economics Foundation and supported by the Labour Party, and will not result in the radical transparency that is clearly needed.

The risk is that this will be just as limited as the Vickers report - which was far too narrow in scope. Instead we need the opportunity to ask the bigger questions about what sort of banking system we want and need for this country’s economy to get back on its feet.

Unfortunately given the inevitable blame game and Punch and Judy politics that George Osborne and Ed Balls are playing today - it seems unlikely that this will happen anytime soon.

But while compromised politicians are engaging in political mud slinging, consumers don't have to wait for Westminster. We can build a better banking system today by moving our money into the ethical financial sector, so tell your friends, family and colleagues to move their money today!

For more information about Move Your Money UK visit www.moveyourmoney.org.uk or find us on Twitter at @MoveYourMoneyUK or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MoveYourMoneyUK

Lying, cheating, stealing - when we will end our abusive relationship with the big five banks?

2012-07-02T09:00:00+00:00

Last week we found out that the big four banks have been lying, cheating and stealing from customers. And it’s not just the ‘big boys’ at Barclays who have been misbehaving, there has been systematic failure throughout the system.

It's time to move our money. It's not enough to be fed up, it's time to act. It’s difficult to overestimate the damage banks have done by lying about LIBOR and mis-selling interest rate swaps (click here for our FAQ).

By lying about LIBOR - the interest rate banks were paying when borrowing money from others - bankers were pushing up the cost of mortgages and siphoning money off pensions to spend on their ‘bottles of Bolly’. By mis-selling interest rate swaps, they’ve put huge pressure on small businesses and tipped some over the edge.

Even Meryvn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, described the banks behaviour as “deceitful” - but then he also doesn’t think we need an enquiry into banking, or apparently, any systemic changes to the financial system.

What’s even more frightening than the deceit, is the very real chance that there will no punishment or change as a result of these revelations. So far Barclays have been fined £290million, which is 10 days’ profit, poor Bob Diamond has had to give up his bonus and a private investigation has been launched into LIBOR rates. No criminal prosecutions, no public enquiry, no changes to banking structures, no better regulation.

We have a rotten banking system, a broken regulatory system and politicians who are more interested in point scoring that solving the problem. And yet 75% of people are still banking with one of the five big banks. Enough is enough -we can’t let the abuse go on, we have to move our money now and start building the better banking system we desperately need.

Please help spread the MOVE YOUR MONEY message today:

1) Email your friends and family telling them it’s time to end their abusive relationship with their bank

2) Spread the message on Facebook

3) Get the word out on Twitter: The big banks have lied, cheated & stolen. Don't wait any longer: #MoveYourMoney today & help build a better banking system

4) Call 5 friends and ask them if they’re thinking of moving their money

Though most people in the UK currently bank with the “Big 5” - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, RBS and Santander, we aren’t reliant on them. There is a flourishing group of financial providers that offer a safe and credible alternative. They have ownership structures and business strategies that are more geared towards benefiting people, communities and the environment. You can find out more about where you could move your money to, including credit unions, building societies, banks with strong ethical commitments and community development finance institutions here: www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/where-can-i-move-my-money-to

What does it take to make us move our money?

2012-07-01T10:45:00+00:00

There's a widely quoted statistic that you're more likely to get divorced than to move your bank account. In the general opinion, you're relationship with your bank is pretty much for life - through thick and thin (mostly their thick and your thin). But given that this financial relationship is also one of the most important, isn't it a good idea to choose someone who you'll be comfortable with?

The past few weeks have brought a whole raft of reasons to feel insecure about your relationship with your bank into the public gaze. Whilst there are few of us without an anecdote of terrible customer service, or who don't have the occasional rant against bankers and bonuses, recent events involving Natwest and Barclays have in some cases been the final straw. The Guardian's poll 'Will you be moving your money following recent events?' found that over 70% said yes, they would.

Natwest customers got an unwelcome surprise on Tuesday morning when many of them found their accounts had not been updated with incoming or outgoing payments. There were stories of people trapped in carparks unable to use their cards to pay their parking bill, of those who's cards were rejected in supermarkets, or who were unable to go through with house purchases.

Then, on Thursday, it emerged that Barclays bank had been fixing the inter-bank lending rate, allowing them to rake in profits at their customers' expense. Barclays is first to be named and shamed in a list that is expected to grow longer as the regulators do their work.

And on Friday, the big banks were found guilty of, in the understated language of the FSA, 'serious failings' in the way they sold financial products to small businesses. In the language of one of the small businessmen affected: 'they have torn the soul out of the business'.

So what does it take to make us move our money?

None of the events of the past two weeks should have come as a surprise. Over the last few years the big banks have proved again and again that they will consistently put personal profit over public benefit. That they do not care about customers enough to make sure they have the right products and services. And that they will reward themselves for irresponsible trading, fraud, tax avoidance and illegal mis-selling with bonuses that have grown exponentially over the past few years. It seems that moving your money, like many administrative tasks, takes a strong incentive. Fury is a good one, and one that many report anecdotally as having given them the final push, especially in the wake of the financial crisis. One mover said "After 30-odd years of loyalty to NatWest, the antics of RBS Group - in particular their obsession with sell, sell, sell at the expense of customer service and reliable back-office operations (e.g. IT) have finally tipped me over the edge."

Another said: 'I switched months ago! I'm heartily sick to death of the lies, cheating and all other shades of corruption from banks'.

The biggest barrier to moving seems to be the lack of awareness of the alternatives. Move Your Money UK gets many questions via Twitter and other media to the effect of 'where should I move my money to? Surely they're all the same?'. If this were the case, we would be in an unfortunate position indeed. Thankfully, although the UK does not benefit from the wealth of financial options existing in countries like the US and Germany, there are alternatives to the big, and increasingly broken, banks. Credit unions, building societies, cooperatives and banks with explicit ethical policies offer the full range of conventional financial products - without the irresponsible and illegal trading practices, criminally-pushy mis-selling and craven bonus taking whilst the real economy starves of credit.

The best advocacy for these banks will be the ever-growing number of their customers.

2012-06-27T11:00:00+00:00

Barclays has settled for £290m with the Financial Services Authority in the UK, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice in the US. The fines are the result of an investigation which found that Barclays had deliberately manipulated interest rates in order to protect themselves from losses and bolster their profits in derivatives trading. Louis Brooke, spokesperson for Move Your Money UK said “This is an example of barefaced fraud which the regulators were powerless to stop. Manipulating interest rates is not a victimless crime – ordinary borrowers and savers have paid so that fact cat traders could line their pockets with multimillion-pound bonuses.

The fact that this was going on in the midst of a financial crisis caused by the bank's reckless, dishonest behavior only proves that our financial system is out of control. In a rigged market, with clueless regulators and gutless politicians the only way to hold the big banks to account is to use our consumer power and move our money.

Ordinary mortals might be facing prosecution, yet Bob Diamond and his cronies have only made the token gesture of waiving their bonuses. it again seems to be one rule for us and another for them.”

If Barclay's have been up to it, then you can bet that the other banks aren't far behind, indeed we are anticipating similar fines for RBS and the other big banks. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that this is endemic corruption, built into the very fabric of the banking system.

But what's so shocking about this latest scandal is that it so clearly undermines the mechanisms on which the financial markets rely to be able to function. It is kamikaze greed.

That's why moving your money out of the big banks is so important, these institutions are so far gone, their cultures, practices and procedures so tainted that we urgently need to build an alternative.

In the UK we have a strong mutual sector in the form of the building societies, the Co-op and an ever-growing credit union movement, as well as a number of mission-driven banks. These offer real alternatives to the big banks. We cannot afford to let the big banks run amok with our economy and our money again. If you haven't already then its time to Move Your Money. You can't afford not to.

Charity credit cards, or why taking corporate social responsibility to consumers sucks

2012-06-19T09:35:00+00:00

There are lots of big reasons to move your money. Reasons like question marks over the ethics of investments, tax avoidance on a massive scale and post-bail out bonuses.

But, in this guest post, I want to talk about some much smaller, niggling reasons and one very small section of the market in particular: charity credit cards.

Not only is it small, it just got smaller. Earlier this year, Lloyds Banking Group dropped their range of charity credit cards.

These cards had netted three of the UK’s biggest charities – Cancer Research UK, NSPCC and SSPCA - £18m over the 23, 17 and 15 years they were respectively issued.

It doesn’t sound like much but, despite declining demand, it isn’t insignificant either.

In 2009, for example, the three charities earned 1.1 million. If Cancer Research UK took a third of that cash, that’s 0.7% of their £498 million income for 2009.

What with all those bad debts on the books and PPI pay outs to make, Lloyds group have had a tough couple of years but charity cards seem an odd place to cut back. Luckily for them, the cut wasn’t picked up much, an outcome PR Week sensitively described as 'a hit'.

Of course, to misquote Oscar Wilde, there are only two tragedies in life: not getting what you want, and getting it.

It’s tragic that charity credit cards are dying out but it’s even more tragic how very little they give to charities in the first place.

In my site’s long standing feature on this, we calculate that £2,000 in purchases on a standard charity credit card would net about £6.

A mid-market cash back credit card earning 2% would earn £40 and in a top cash back credit card's 5% bonus period it’d earn £100.

There’s a simple solution – ‘just switch that charity card for a top cash back deal to give more!’ – but I feel sadder every time I suggest it.

Personally, I know that if I didn’t give to charity by direct debit I wouldn’t remember to give every month and maybe, if I could get one of those top cash back cards, I wouldn’t remember to give my bonus away either.

There’s something simple about the concept of automatic giving that’s attractive and it’s hard not to feel that, by allowing charitable cards to become so very uncompetitive, the banks have managed to distort what could have been a good, guaranteed source of charitable income and let it wither away.

Or, to illustrate the same thing another way, Lloyds included their charitable cards in their ‘corporate responsibility’ report.

Someone I vaguely know who, while otherwise very nice, is a lawyer in a big London firm once described her company’s corporate responsibility program to me.

Big black Bentleys pull up outside their City offices, she said, whisk the lawyers away to bluff their way through housing advice in Brixton or Hackney law centers and, a few hours later, whisk them back. The firm lays on a polo match for the lawyers’ trouble.

I said I found this sort of horrifying. The very nice lawyer smiled. “That’s just how we do it,” she said.

And I thought: yeah, but I wish you didn’t.

About the author

Julia Kukiewicz is Editor of Choose, a price comparison and online publication site that focuses on consumer rights issues and market debate into personal finance, www.choose.net.

Find more from Julia and Choose on Twitter and Google.

Our Banks are Free but Our Banking Isn’t

2012-06-06T11:00:00+00:00

- Guest blog from Matt Hawkins.

What do we expect from our banks? Theoretically banks can provide security, financial advice, free current accounts, interest, loans of somebody else’s money, and, particularly attractive for students, even railcards. The crash of Northern Rock, RBS, Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Bradford and Bingley in the UK suggests, however, that our banks are not quite as secure as we might think. The £9bn that major banking corporations are now being fined for the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) also demonstrates that their advice is not always that great. Perhaps one of the most pervasive assumptions, however, is that all these ‘services’ are free. Andrew Bailey, soon-to-be Chief Regulator of the financial services industry, caused some consternation in the banking industry last week by stating that people are buying a myth if they believe that their banking is free. Banks, he said, deliberately underpay interest in order to recoup some of the losses they incur by not having pay-per-use charges or contractual fees for opening an account. Banks also seek to capture big payouts from their customers when their accounts are overdrawn.

The problem is that the apparent need for our banks to be ‘free’ is partly built upon and reinforced by the model of free market capitalism. The culture of competition and the need to stay ahead of the game can encourage underhand methods – particular when there are few punitive measures in place. Hence we see that banks posit themselves as being free to use but in fact utilise ‘silent’ charges to ensure that they maximise their revenue.

The UK is actually unique in Europe in allowing its customers to hold accounts for ‘free’ – elsewhere people will pay a monthly fee or pay at the point of use. Even though banks have admitted that such upfront charges would be fairer the feeling is that it would constitute business suicide to be the first bank to introduce open and honest charges. The issue is, however, that banks are making such assumptions about their customers based on the level of information that the public currently holds. As Andrew Bailey’s statement makes quite clear – most of the public are innocently unaware that banks are charging them for their custom. The public would be far more likely to accept transparent charges if they were made aware of the opaque ones that they are already signed up to.

Do we want to change this culture? It might just be simpler to stick with the status quo and assume that what the public doesn’t know won’t hurt them. The issue, though, is that any kind of deceit can just prop-up a wider culture within the banking industry in which the customer is not being put first. Bailey himself stated that the need to charge customers for their ostensibly free accounts contributed to the practice of mis-selling PPIs, creating a culture in which deceit was at best possible and at worst encouraged. In addition, propagating the myth that bank accounts are free has an unequal impact across the population. Those who are most likely to be charged are the poorer sections of society since their accounts often teeter on the edge of going into the Red anyway. Moreover, those with the largest financial portfolios are also more likely to be the most au fait with the practices of “hidden charges” and thus know the various loopholes to avoid them.

We do not have to be satisfied with these practices. The Move Your Money campaign is encouraging people to speak with their feet and move their money across to financial institutions which support and promote ethical and transparent alternatives. Banks, for instance, do not have to focus their resources purely on being competitive and on enhancing their profit margins. The Co-operative, for example, is involved in campaigns to promote human rights, environmental sustainability, international development and the prevention of cruelty to animals. At the same time the Co-operative was voted the number one bank for customer service. Banks also do not have to be part of the global capitalist market to work for their customers. A number of building societies and credit unions – Coventry Building Society, London Mutual, and Bristol Credit Union, for example – are built on localism and are meeting the needs of their high street customers. These credit unions might charge for their current accounts (London Mutual is 95p a week) but at least their fees are transparent and applied to the rich as much as the poor.

Banking can have a different face and a different ethos – but the only way to encourage this is to Move Your Money and support banks which promote an alternative model.

RBS Factsheet

2012-05-29T15:00:00+00:00

Wondering why you should move your money out of RBS?

Voting with our feet: Ex-customers at the HSBC Annual General Meeting

2012-05-24T23:00:00+00:00

Today HSBC held its AGM. Outraged HSBC customers were outside the AGM cutting up their cards as part of a Move Your Money protest against 'back to business as usual' at the bank. More photos here.

The AGM is seeing heated debate. Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver is set to receive total pay packet worth £7.2 million. This has not only angered shareholders but also unions who have criticised high pay at the bank given the recent loss of more than 2,000 UK jobs as part of a global drive to cut costs and boost profits.

The bank has also recently come under fire for its aggressive tax avoidance schemes from campaign - groups such as Fair Pensions and Action Aid uncovered that HSBC has 1527 subsidiaries, 36% of which were in tax havens.

HSBC has been threatening to leave the UK if the implementation of the Vickers review, which proposes that banks be forced to ring fence their retail and wholesale operations, is too onerous.

A minority of shareholders voted against the remuneration report, but todays AGM hasn't done anything to address fundamental issues at HSBC like their policy of aggressive tax avoidance.

UK citizens should not be held to ransom by HSBC’s threats to leave the country. We have to hold the big banks to account. That’s why Move Your Money UK is calling on customers of HSBC to vote with their feet and move their money out of the bank.

You can join in and use your consumer power to build a better banking system too!

✔ Vote for better banking NOW by pledging to move your money

✔ Let your friends and family who bank with HSBC know what the bank's up to. See our factsheet on HSBC

✔ Write to your bank to let them know why you're leaving: template letter

Dear Mr Gulliver: Why I'm leaving HSBC

2012-05-24T13:00:00+00:00

Neva Frecheville, 30, works as an international development policy officer for WWF. She believes that people have the power to be more than just consumers, they can be citizens who affect the way in which the world works, and in this letter she explain to the HSBC CEO, Stephen Gulliver, why she's moving her money out of HSBC.

Dear Mr Gulliver,

I am writing to you to share my reasons for closing my bank account with HSBC in favour of a company with a better ethical investment policy. I have banked with HSBC for over a decade now, using a variety of services and generally receiving good customer service.

Despite this, I am no longer able to bank with HSBC with a clear conscience because of your financing of the extraction of the Alberta tar sands in Canada.  The levels of carbon dioxide that will be released into the atmosphere as a result of exploiting this reserve will accelerate climate change and has been predicted to push us beyond the 'tipping point', after which we irreversible changes to the climate will engender global disruption of food systems, our oceans and the ecosystems we all depend on. 

NASA scientist James Hansen has identified that Canada’s tar sands contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history and that if we fully exploit this new oil source, alongside continued burning of conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, the amount of carbon dioxide released would accelerate climate change to the extent that it becomes unmanageable.

 This is made possible by the capital investment provided by HSBC.  I urge you to consider deeply the implications of your actions, in the hope that your company is able to see beyond short term profits and recognise your responsibility to both current and future generations.  

Yours sincerely,

Neva Frecheville

Barclays as better citizens - your thoughts

2012-05-23T23:00:00+00:00

Yesterday was Barclay's Citizenship day and with no hint of irony, Bob Diamond gave a lecture on what citizenship meant.

Although Move Your Money UK wasn’t invited we hear that Barclays decided to reduce the day down to a morning. They’re obviously such good citizens that they didn’t have that much to talk about…

Whilst Bob clearly considers himself an exemplary citizen, we thought there was probably room for improvement so we asked MYM supporters for ideas on how Bob & co could do better.

Here were some of the innovative ideas that the public provided (for free) to help make Barclays better citizens:

"As one of the 147 companies that 'run' the world they should become a coop & redistribute the enormous wealth they marshal."

"They should be fitted with an 'empathy chip'"

"Stop gambling on food prices, which makes people go hungry in poor countries?"

"Lead a movement of business in the UK which is pro #taxjustice"

"Be transparent about your lending and investment practices"

“I cant use as enough expletives in 140 characters”

Or as we put it at Move Your Money

You can’t polish a turd

We loved each and every suggestion. But in our poll of over 130 people, the overwhelming consensus was the one thing that Barclays could do to be better citizens is to pay their tax (48 votes) followed by stopping investing in arms companies (27 votes).

Paying your fair share of corporate tax should be the most basic tenet of good citizenship. Perhaps Bob could check he's ticked this first box before he starts lecturing on good citizenship next year.

Barclays Citizenship Day - You can't polish a turd

2012-05-22T23:00:00+00:00

Today Barclays is holding a ‘citizenship day’ to underline the banks commitment to being a good citizen. Chief executive, Bob Diamond, who made citizenship one of the banks ‘execution priorities’ will be hosting the event.

As a campaign to build a more socially responsible financial sector, surely Move Your Money should embrace this kind of behaviour with open arms?

One phrase springs to mind – you can’t polish a turd.

What exactly do Barclays mean by ‘citizenship’ anyway?

"Our role is to help improve the lives of our customers. We must provide mortgages, allow businesses to invest and create jobs, protect savings, pay tax, be a good neighbour in the community while also generating positive economic returns for our investors."

- Bob Diamond, Chief Executive, Barclays Bank

Just doing the bare minimum of what the law and your business model require, In Barclays case making loans, opening accounts, hiring staff, paying tax (when they feel like it), conducting impact assessments, treating customers fairly does not make them a good citizen.

Maybe someone should tell Bob Diamond that most ordinary people do their jobs and don’t break the law everyday of their lives?

Barclays is very proud of the £55 million it gave out in CSR in 2010 and that it allows its staff to volunteer for projects.

What’s less impressive is that Barclays gave out £2.6bn in bonuses last year, paid an effective rate 1% corporation tax in 2009, receives more customer complaints than any other UK bank, receives an implicit subsidy from the UK tax payer of £10 billion each year, is the worlds largest investor in arms, was awarded the ‘Shame’ award by WDM for its role in causing global hunger by artificially inflating food prices through speculation… Need I continue?

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Barclay’s newfound enthusiasm for citizenship is nothing more than a cynical PR push.

But more importantly, Barclays is one of the banks that crashed the global economy, plunging the country into recession and prompting the deepest public sector spending cuts in decades. Standards of living are falling and unemployment is rising for those people who had nothing to do with the crisis.

The event is being held in Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest boroughs in the country. Had those most deeply affected by public spending cuts and unemployment been invited I imagine they'd have a word or two on 'citizenship' for the multimillionaire banker.

We urgently need our bank to be better citizens. But that means fundamentally changing their business models so that they are no longer ‘too big to fail’, actually support households, small businesses and communities and protect the environment. Until Barclays addresses these fundamental problems - and the resulting poverty, instability and inequality they create - attempts to lecture us on citizenship are at best offensive.

Change won’t come from the boardrooms, the so-called ‘share holder spring’ or politicians. As citizens we have to take matters into our own hands. So you want to show Barclays what being a good citizen really means? Move your money and make banking better.

HSBC Factsheet

2012-05-20T13:00:00+00:00

Wondering why you should move your money out of HSBC?

Guest Blog: Inside of HBOS - ex-employee exposes life on the sales floor

2012-05-16T23:00:00+00:00

J C Willis worked at HBOS, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group before the crash. Here she writes on the unscrupulous culture of upselling, and the reality of life on the sales floor.

Recently Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said banks were not solely responsible for the crisis as they “had to lend to someone”. He told The Telegraph that personal borrowers are equally responsible, “Some people are unwilling to accept responsibility for the consequences of their own choices.”

In contrast Paul Moore, the former Head of Group Regulatory Risk at HBOS, is convinced banks were to blame. In this video he talks about a culture of “systematic mis-selling” at HBOS – something he says he warned the board about in a 2004 report which he says ultimately got him fired. Moore equates the sales culture to a supermarket ethos of “stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap”. Halifax even brought in Andy Hornby from Asda in 1999 to champion this ethos as their Chief Executive of Retail.

I worked at HBOS until 2007 (the year before the bailout) so I know exactly what Paul Moore means when he talks about over-selling. The philosophy of the board seemed to be growth at all costs. They set ambitious growth targets but failed to temper them by linking to customer retention or bad debt. Combined with the bonus structure this led to the prioritisation of sales targets above all else, in order to keep the boss happy and your income consistent.

I imagine senior and middle managers would like to tell you their own stories about how hard it was for them to crack the sales whip but in my opinion it was the staff in the branches that bore the brunt of the increasing target culture. It’s always the people at the bottom that have it the hardest as there’s no-one for them to pass expectations on to. There were lots of initiatives to make it easier to hit those sales targets though. A lot of the products offered genuinely market-leading rates, and this was good news for customers although ultimately unsustainable for the bank. A big boon to sales was system-generated guaranteed offers of credit, which were made based on information the bank already knew about you. This meant the offer was made before an up-to-date credit reference agency search was conducted. Here’s how it worked:-

Let’s say you go into your branch to apply for a small overdraft. The advisor checks your details on the system and sees that you qualify for a guaranteed loan of several thousand pounds. They engage you in a bit of conversational selling to find out what might tempt you to borrow more: “have you been on holiday yet this year, madam? No? You’re saving up for a new car instead?” You get the picture. The aim is to get you to borrow as much as possible and, while you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy about HBOS, find out what accounts you have elsewhere and persuade you to move them. The strategy was all about drawing new customers in with a market-leading mortgage or savings account rate, getting them to move all their accounts to HBOS and then lending them as much as possible.

All of this seems reasonable on the surface, but when you find out you qualify for more than you thought you would it can be hard to resist. In fact, it stands to reason that the less disposable income you have the more it will tempt you. Suddenly you’re thinking about those jobs around the house that you’ve been putting off or how nice it would be to spoil the kids for a change. There’s very little time to think about the monthly payment and how it will affect your budget. The clock’s ticking and if you don’t take the extra now it might not be guaranteed tomorrow.

It certainly wasn’t responsible lending because the adviser hasn’t been through your income and spending with you to check what monthly payment you can afford. This was part of the standard loan application. For all the system generating the guaranteed offer knows you might have lost your job two weeks ago. No matter, it’s not in the salesperson’s interests to pull the plug if ‘computer says yes’. HBOS put more faith in their automated credit systems than in its staff. There was absolutely no incentive for staff to consider lending risk. In fact they would be making life more difficult for themselves as they’d need to explain why they failed to sell anything during that appointment. Front line staff complained about the sales culture. They tried to tell senior managers that the targets were too high, their jobs were too stressful and the lack of focus on service was driving good customers away. The trade union magazine always featured letters from staff saying they were leaving the company because the sales culture was driving them crazy. Everything we said fell on deaf ears. I even recall a year or two before I left that HBOS had record levels of default. If nothing else set alarm bells ringing that should have, but nothing changed.

In my opinion the Board put too much faith in profit. There was a misguided belief that you could wait until profit started to drop and then adjust your strategy. They disregarded every other warning waiting for the one that came too fast in the end. When I left in 2007 HBOS had just announced retail profits of £4bn. 18 months later they were begging for a bailout. Hammond might be right that the banks had to lend to someone, but they tried to lend too much to too many. Banking had always been about calculated risk, hedging your bets. At some point they lost interest in hedging their bets and started to think they couldn’t lose. When Philip Hammond, who played a key role in devising David Cameron’s economic strategy, talks about taking responsibility he would do well to remember that no-one has offered to bail out people who were allowed to borrow more than they should have. We have little option but to face the consequences of our own borrowing - one way or another our debts will be repaid, and with interest. It’s the banks, regulators and politicians that have yet to take responsibility for their role in the crisis.

Annual General Moving Your Money

2012-05-11T23:00:00+00:00

AGM season is coming up and all eyes will again be on the banks. We’ll understand just how much money they’re making, and just how little they’ve changed since causing global financial meltdown.

As account holders we won’t be invited to the Annual General Meetings to hear last years results, or vote on business conduct for the next. And we won’t be holding our breath for Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds or RBS voting to halt their risky practices, tax avoidance, massive bonuses, or unethical investments.

We all have a stake in a financial system that works for the many not the few. We don’t get a vote, but it’s our money they hold, and we do have a voice.

On the day of your bank's AGM, have your say. Whether you decide to move all your money, or just a bit, say no to business as usual for the big banks. Pledge to move your money now, put the date in your diary, and help build something better.

Bank	AGM date
Barclays	27th April
Lloyds Group (incl Halifax and Bank of Scotland)	17th May
HSBC	25th May
RBS (incl Natwest and Ulster Bank)	30th May

Annual General Moving Your Money - you don't get a vote, but you do have a voice. Use it this AGM season - Pledge to move your money now!

Move Your Money is hiring web designers/developers!

2012-05-10T11:00:00+00:00

We're currently searching for talented London-based web designers and developers to join the MYM UK team.

Most of the work on the campaign is done by volunteers, but in this instance, we're able to pay £100/day on a freelance basis.

Designers: We're looking for designers that can knock up eye-catching graphics in Photoshop or similar, and are comfortable using HTML, CSS and a little Javascript. If you have some experience using Ruby or another server-side language such as PHP, that's ideal.

Developers: We're looking for developers that are comfortable with an object-oriented language (ideally Ruby) and also happy working with HTML, CSS and jQuery. Preferably you'll have some experience with popular APIs such as Facebook, Twitter and Mailchimp and version control systems like Git.

If you're interested, send over one or more links to projects you've worked on previously along with a paragraph or two about why you want to get involved with MYM to steve@moveyourmoney.org.uk. No need for CVs.

"Banks may think they are too big to fail, but I'd rather put my savings with a Society that is 'too small to bail' "

2012-05-08T10:00:00+00:00

- Why financial journalist and author Simoney Girand moved her ISA from HSBC to Leeds Building Society.

HSBC's terrible service.

Like most people, the strength of the universal bank that is HSBC kept me loyal during the early years of the financial crisis, despite me knowing that the interest rate on my cash ISA was pitiful. But when I changed to a 2.5 per cent rate, the real problems became obvious.

In April 2011, I took out an ISA with HSBC and transferred cash. In May, I took out £1700 to help a friend pay for her wedding. In September, after a few months of penury, I decided to start transferring money into the account, using my online banking account.

I got a letter back from my bank telling me HSBC had closed my ISA through non-activity. It had been FOUR months. Usually they put a close on an ISA 12 months after no activity. I went in, spent an hour complaining, filled in two forms, and then got it re-opened.

I tried to put £100 in again 14 days later. Three days after that, I got a letter from my bank saying HSBC had closed my account. I went back into HSBC. The man told me 'The person who we sent this to at the Oxford Street Branch forgot to sign it. I think he lost the email'.

I was promised it would be sorted. In October, I tried to transfer - and you guessed it! Another bounce-back for being 'closed'. This time HSBC told me the name of the culprit - Mark - and said he'd not actioned anything, so my account was closed.

That was two months of no interest being gained on my additional funds. I then told them I worked for Financial Adviser newspaper, and they gave me £30 for my trouble.

Finding something better

Still seething I returned to my desk to see a press release from Leeds Building Society, touting its 3 per cent one-year ISA. Now I like the way Leeds works - it does not allow room for carpet-baggers so for the first five years of custom, members will not get a bonus but agree for any membership based-bonus remuneration to be paid to charity.

If you see how many press releases I get from LBS about money raised for BBC Children in Need or to sponsor local causes, such as the Leeds Rhinos, you would realise it makes such a difference in its community. Local schools, hospices, rugby teams all get funding from LBS and its members, while national charities also benefit from its fund-raising activities.

Plus it seeks to protect its loyal members through preventing a quick-grab from potential carpetbaggers, thereby preserving both its mutual status and its well-earned reputation as an ethical, caring, local business.

Since then, my mother has also taken all her money out of Santander and approached Nationwide. I hold my mortgage with Nationwide and would never give it to a bank again. I just think in these recessionary times, big banks with large overseas and European operations are not safe. Northern Rock was the UK's fourth largest lender and those queues of panicky people stretched around the block. Will the Spanish banks be next? Poor old Abbey National...

When the proverbial hit the fan in 2007, 2008, you could not squeeze an open comment out of the banks. But it was the societies and mutuals that were standing up to be counted. They didn't need bailouts, they didn't need to appease shareholders, they didn't need to go cap-in-hand to ask taxpayers - their customers - for money.

Banks may think they are too big to fail, but I'd rather put my savings with a Society that is 'too small to bail'.

Why I Moved My Money #3

2012-05-02T21:10:00+00:00

Dr Kate Meagher wrote to Barclays CEO, Bob Diamond, to explain why she is moving her money and why she supports the Move Your Money campaign. If you've moved your money, or are thinking about it, we would like to hear from you too. Send your stories to marloes@moveyourmoney.org.uk.

Dear Mr. Diamond,

I have been a steady and high-saving customer of Barclay's Bank for 25 years, but I am now in the process of closing my Barclay's account and transfering all of my resources elsewhere. I cannot continue to put money into an institution that engages in such deplorable practices, including tax evasion and high bonuses in times of austerity -- bonuses given to the very people whose reckless risk-taking put us into this crisis in the first place. The rest of the working people of Britain are being asked to work diligently for less, and even to volunteer in the name of the Big Society, yet we are supposed to accept that bankers cannot be expected to work for their already considerable salaries, and need bonuses to be motivated to do their jobs.

Since Barclay's seems to have forgotten the meaning of professional commitment and social obligations, perhaps your share-holders will remind you of their importance as more and more of us leave the bank to shift our money to institutions that behave like they are part of this society rather than the unaccountable masters of it. You seem to think you have us over a barrel, but actually, we still have the power to move our money.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Kate Meagher

Why I Moved My Money #2

2012-05-02T21:00:00+00:00

Olaya de la Iglesis describes how her need to find an affordable loan led her to discover great alternatives to the High Street banks. If you've moved your money, or are thinking about it, we would like to hear from you too. Send your stories to marloes@moveyourmoney.org.uk.

I am a healthcare professional and I have always played by the rules. I have a mortgage, a current account, several savings accounts and a student loan. I pay into a pension and I do not spend the money I do not have so I have only one credit card for emergencies. About 6 moths ago I needed a loan after my second hand car became a hole for thousands of pounds and I was left without transport to get to work 25 miles away and fulfil my on-call duties. I searched for the best rates and in my search I came across ZOPA, a social lending site. The principle was easy, people like me had savings they were happy to lend to people in need at fair rates and without all the small print and fees of high street banks. With some reservations I applied and within a week I had the money I needed.

After several months I started looking at the rest of my finances. I was getting tired of the measly 0.75% interest I was getting from my savings account with Barclays and was wondering if besides paying for my mortgage and loan, I could do something useful with my money without giving it up (I don’t have much, only enough for emergency purchases). Then I thought, why shouldn’t I get the same rate as the banks? And why should I give my money to Barclays who will dutifully hand it over to Mr. Diamond when I could help others that like me, need something to make a living? So I decided I was going for it and I emptied both of my Barclays savings accounts and invested them in ZOPA. In just a week I was able to help 60 individuals get what they need and in the process I get a better return.

Once I had done this I saw the news that Mr. Diamond was to receive £17million in bonuses while I get a meagre 0.75% interest rate. Enough is enough. I can just about excuse them from their mistakes if they showed contrition and a genuine effort to change their ways (after all banksters are only human), but almost 4 years later nothing has changed. I am still losing out while they get richer, I am still seeing public services and working conditions deteriorate while their profits continue to rise (and that is without disclosure of hidden assets which they probably hold off-shore somewhere). So I am making a stand and changing the situation by changing my own choices. Needless to say I am going to the Co-op Bank this weekend and asking for a current account transfer. All I can say is that I am ashamed I did not do it sooner and I hope I find and alternative to Natwest for my mortgage!

I would like to point out that, for me, this feels a little bit like when recycling became the challenge; we all thought ‘Why bother if I cannot make a difference on my own?’. Less than a decade later there is a palpable difference in rates of recycling and that is a result of our individual efforts. Together we can change the landscape of financial services, at least the commercial banking sector. Let them finance their risky speculation activities with their own money, because I am not giving them mine!! And I hope you join me.

Get Creative!

2012-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

Some of you have been inspired to spread the Move Your Money message in creative ways, and you can see these brilliant creations below.

If you feel inspired to respond and contribute to the Move Your Money campaign in a creative way be sure to send us any videos or pictures!

Artist Isaac Holland made this surreal animation.

Some students in London made a video about Move Your Money UK for a university project!

Chalk on the streets of Edinburgh.

Local group Move Your Money Bath made a very funny video when they performed some street theatre.

Leo grated his old Natwest card!

Lisa did some Move Your Money baking!

'Dear Mr. Diamond, I don't bank with Barclays because...'

2012-04-19T23:00:00+00:00

‘Dear Mr. Diamond’ Day of Action - on AGM day let Barclays know what you think of them

On 27th April Barclays will be holding its Annual General Meeting. While unemployment rises and local economies suffer, we’ll be reminded just how much money the banks made last year, and how little they’ve changed since causing global financial meltdown. Bloated bonuses, risky speculation, tax avoidance and unethical investment aren’t going anywhere - but we are! On the day of the AGM people all over the country will be pledging to move their money and closing accounts.

Let’s let Bob Diamond, Barclays CEO, know exactly what we think about his bank and its practices.

‘Dear Mr. Diamond, I don't bank with your bank because...

Jot your thoughts down on a post-it, stick it somewhere interesting – a Barclays cashpoint? a Barclays bike? the front window of a Barclays bank? – and send us a picture at contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk.

Alternatively, tweet us your thoughts using the hashtag #DearBob @MoveYourMoneyUK, email contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk or post on our Facebook.

***

The next day we’ll collect all your thoughts and cover the front of a branch in central London in post-its. Join us at from 12-1pm on Sat 28th at 15 - 17 Great Portland St to lend a hand.

If you’re not in London, why not cover a branch near you? Let us know the details and we’ll post here. Any question don’t hesitate to get in touch: contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk

Here are some examples of messages we've received so far, but you can say whatever you want:

#DearBob Your service is appalling. Barclays had the most customer complaints of all UK banks last year.

#DearBob, I'd never bank with Barclays because I want my money to support local communities and businesses, not your 5.7m tax bill

#DearBob your bank's ethics are unacceptable. I hate where Barclays invests my savings.

#DearBob, I hate Barclays because you helped write the latest budget which helped you dodge MORE tax!

This factsheet on Barclays might give you some inspiration too:

Move Your Money Month ends but the movement keeps on growing

2012-04-13T10:00:00+00:00

To celebrate the launch of the campaign we called for a month of action during March under the banner of Move Your Money Month. Now that the dust has settled we thought it was time for a quick run down of what happened.

To kick the month off Cooperatives UK released The Little Book of Money, to get the message out that by moving your money, you can help build a better banking system – one that meets the needs of households business and communities and is socially and environmentally responsible.

During the month over 1000 people pledged to move their money. But we know many more people were doing it. Ethical banks like Charity Bank, Triodos and Ecology Building Society all saw visitors to their sites, enquiries and deal flow increase.

Mark Howland, head of Marketing at Charity Bank said:

“Move Your Money is already having considerable positive impact - our 2012 ISA season was our best yet. We are seeing large numbers of new customers transferring their savings from high street banks, many as a direct or indirect result of the Move your Money campaign.” “We are beginning to see the edges of the mainstream getting interested in alternative providers and the MYM message that 'where you keep you money matter' - this is exciting and why we are pleased to hear the MYM intend to stick around for some time!”

Meanwhile the campaign has been snowballing into a nationwide movement with move your money groups springing up in bath, Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, Leicester, Oxford and Edinburgh. With loads of great actions against the big banks from Move Your Money street theatre in Bath (must watch video!) to a bail out on the streets of Manchester.

Some of these groups partnered up with their local credit unions which are helping drive loan sharks out of our communities and providing credit to families in need where the big banks refuse. In Leicester a joint event between Clockwise Credit Union and Transition Leicester and Move Your Money got the City Mayor Sir, Peter Soulsby, to open account at Clockwise. Whilst in Southwark, London Mutual credit union partnered up with the Brixton pound for a Move Your Money day.

Students have been at it as well. The NUS launched a new toolkit explaining how students can move their money even if they’ve got an overdraft. Now student groups have started petitioning their unions to move their money to a better bank.

So all in all a pretty busy month! But now’s the time the movement really gets going. We urgently need a banking system that is fit for purpose. Find out how we're targeting the banks during AGM season and stay tuned for our Move Your Council's Money campaign.

Louis Brooke, Move Your Money

Move Your Money Leicester

2012-04-08T10:00:00+00:00

On 17th March Move your Money UK collaborated with one of the credit unions in Leicester, Clockwise, to hold an open day.

On the day, Leicester's City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, became a member of Clockwise and opened a savings account:

“Clockwise provides a very important service in the city which benefits thousands of people.

As well as very good savings rates, they also offer loans which are much more affordable than the payday or doorstep loans that can lead people into real financial hardship.

I am very pleased to be opening an account with them, knowing that my money will stay in the city, and will help other people to access funds, as well as giving me a good rate of return.

More than 1,000 council staff already save with Clockwise, choosing to have cash deducted straight from their salary. I will be looking at how the council can work with them in other ways which can be of benefit to city people”.

Earlier that morning on the local radio Sir Peter also said that he was committed to increasing the number of members at Clockwise from 7,000 to 10,000 by the end of the year! MP for Leicester South, Jon Ashworth, was also going to attend the open day and become a member, but unfortunately he was called away to a by-election.

As a credit union, Clockwise is a financial co-operative committed to providing a wide range of safe services including current accounts, flexible savings and affordable loans to people who live and work in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It is not for profit and money saved is reinvested in the local community.

Doug Golding, 64, is a retired management consultant who has had savings in Clockwise for three years and is very happy with their service:

"It's good to know that by saving in a local credit union my money is being used to provide affordable loans to people in Leicester and not to provide profits for big companies and faceless speculators."

One of the aims of Clockwise is to offer financial services to those who are otherwise excluded from mainstream banking and who are vulnerable to unscrupulous lending practices. Damon Gibbons, director of the Centre for Responsible Credit, and a Leicester citizen, supported the event:

"Don't continue to shore up the big financial institutions whose irresponsible practices caused the crisis, move your money to organisations that can help support the recovery right here in Leicester instead. Saving money locally, in credit unions like Clockwise, helps support other Leicester residents who need access to affordable loans and who would otherwise have to turn to high cost lenders. Savers get a decent return, and people on lower incomes have more money in their pockets to spend in Leicester, supporting local jobs and businesses."

If you live in Leicestershire or Rutland and are interested in joining, you can visit their website, call them on or visit their branch at . If you want to find your local credit union you can use this search function.

Guest blog: ISAs With Added Impact

2012-04-05T10:00:00+00:00

Over the last few weeks, banks have been falling over themselves to get their hands on your money. Every year billions of pounds are deposited in ISAs as people make the most of their annual tax-free savings allowance before the tax-year ends on 5 April. In the 2010-11 tax-year alone that figure was around £54 billion.

Sadly, much of it is unlikely to end up doing a lot of good in terms of its social and environmental impact as mainstream banks compete aggressively for the nation’s savings. But thankfully there is an alternative where your ISA can have a real positive impact. A handful of banks – championed by Move your Money - have a more enlightened approach which can mean your ISA benefits more than just the big five’s balance sheets. This isn’t just a theoretical statement or a way to get back at the big banks - the money that savers deposit with sustainable banks like Triodos can and does have a huge impact, by providing funds to support the organisations that are driving forward the sustainable real economy.

At Triodos Bank we want to try and help make this real and tangible for savers, one way to do this is to show the impact of businesses and projects we lend to. For example £1,000 lent to the relevant sectors with Triodos Bank is enough to power around one UK home with renewable energy, create 352 organic meals or enable 172 visits to cultural venues. Not hugely significant figures in themselves, but multiply that £1,000 and its potential impact by 54 million, to get to the amount invested in ISAs in 2010-11, and you can start to see just how great that impact could be.

This really shows the power that one person’s savings or ISA allowance can have, and suggests what we could do together if more people also took action. The ISA bonanza isn’t over, with just as stiff competition expected from banks trying to get hold of your tax-free savings in the 2012/13 tax-year. Just consider the impact it could be having when they do.

Huw Davies, from Triodos Bank

Christian Socialist Movement launches Move Your Money campaign.

2012-04-04T11:00:00+00:00

The Christian Socialist Movement have recently launched a campaign called "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" in partnership with Move Your Money UK. Here Andy Flannagan, director of the Christian Socialist Movement, shares his thoughts on the campaign.

I am excited that today CSM is launching its "Put your money where your mouth is" campaign. I have become more and more convinced that transformation in countries only happens through movements, and that movements only happen when folks with a passion for certain policies flesh them out in their lifestyle. Our nation has seen too much of those who espouse certain policies but whose lifestyles look no different to anyone else. There are also plenty of us who studiously model a different way of living, that springs from a different set of values, yet step back from arguing to see those values fleshed out in public policy. Both are required, and to be a movement, you need both.

As the Christian Socialist Movement, we are in a unique and potentially prophetic position, to make good the word "movement" in our title, speaking and acting in a way that goes against the consumerist, individualist grain of our society. Never has this more been needed, as society's ability to even imagine a different way is shrinking fast. People need to see what community based on co-operation rather than competition could look like.

THE CONTEXT

Over the last year, it has been great to see that there has been a lot of discussion and debate about the ethics of capitalism. However our new campaign is not just about speaking, it is about action, and so we are issuing a challenge to members to 'put your money where your mouth is'...

We are stepping into this new campaigning season with confidence, based on the successes of our campaigns for a Financial Transaction Tax and the separation of retail and casino banking. What were once considered fringe interests are now mainstream thinking, and this would not have happened without the many letters and emails written by CSM members over the years.

So over the coming months, CSM will be putting forward ideas for action and campaigning, building on the important work of groups such as the Living Wage Campaign and those who are calling for a cap on interest rates and curbs on doorstep lending. But our first priority is to encourage CSM members and their churches to join in with the 'Move Your Money' campaign, and at a national level, to call for a regulatory shift that enables greater shareholder responsibility and participation.

In short, we want people to see that how and where they invest says as much about their values as possibly any other area of life. After all Jesus said in Luke 12:34 that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Where we put our money reveals our true priorities. The other aspect of “where our mouths are” is that financial transactions are meant to be built on relationships. The very word credit after all is derived from credo, implying a belief and trust between lender and borrower, buyer and seller, shareholder and corporate impact. Sadly however the relational aspect has been slowly but surely driven out of financial transactions. We will be campaigning to see this change. Check out the info on the campaign page.

Think of the snowball effect of thousands of people moving their money to places where profit isn’t the only bottom line. It has happened with fairly traded coffee, bananas and chocolate, so why not with money? We are working with the “move your money” campaign – www.moveyourmoney.org.uk. It contains very useful information about moving your or your church’s money to better places, especially exploring the vital role of credit unions.

Find out what your money is doing while you’re not looking! Where are banks and other bodies investing and using your money?

Reports are available from Ethical Consumer magazine.

They provide excellent resources and explanations as to how different banks, mortgage firms and investment companies use your money when you’re not looking.

Why do we believe that when we give money to charity it is OUR money feeding the poor in say, Rwanda, but when we invest in stocks and shares, it is not OUR money that may be exploiting natural resources in the developing world, or causing environmental pollution? Being separated by a few links in the chain does not remove us from responsibility.

The same must obviously apply to how we invest our finances together, and for many Christians this happens actively through their churches. Could you find out how your church is investing its money and with whom (both at a local and a national level). It may be time to encourage your church to also put its money where its mouth is. Think of the impact of hundreds of churches moving their money to places where it will be invested locally and invested for the common good rather than for fast profit.

There have already been large ripples in the United States from many churches re-investing in a thoughtful way. “Before Thanksgiving, churches moved $55 million away from Wall Street banks and pledged to move at least $100 million more. In late February, a San Francisco coalition moved $10 million from Wells Fargo.”

We are partners in the Move Your Money campaign. Find out more about the campaign at www.moveyourmoney.org.uk

Why I Moved My Money #1

2012-04-02T09:00:00+00:00

Kat Brealey, 23, is an intern living in Coventry. Here she tells us why she moved her money and why she supports the Move Your Money campaign. If you've moved your money, or are thinking about it, we would like to hear from you too. Send your stories to marloes@moveyourmoney.org.uk.

“At the age of sixteen, when the recession was just a twinkle in the financial sector’s eye, I suddenly understood for the first time how having money in the bank worked. This was well before I possessed any real awareness of global systems of power, but I had an inkling that RBS might be doing something less than friendly with the pennies I earned at my Saturday job.

As soon as this realisation hit me, I was gripped by the need to shift my cash as soon as possible. As my teenage self saw it, the issue was that my money was in the hands of someone who was using it to invest in nasty things – the hot issue of the moment was the arms trade – in order to increase their profits. I didn’t want my money used in this way, nor did I want to benefit indirectly from it.

As I wanted a bank with a high street branch, and at the time would soon be in the market for a student account, the Cooperative seemed like the place to go. It wasn’t difficult to switch, and with a rigorous investment policy driven by the values of their members I had the peace of mind that I’d lacked with RBS.

These days I have a greater insight into the injustice of global structures and the silent collusion of the majority in upholding them, but the bottom line is still pretty much the same. I’m proud of my past self, and I would especially encourage teenagers and young adults to take action – you may not have much money but it makes sense to move it now, before the situation is complicated by salaries and mortgages and other such fun grown up things. We are a generation emerging blinking from Higher Education into the harsh light of a recession; having witnessed the mess that irresponsible decisions from the financial sector have wreaked on the economy, are we going to continue to give them the privilege of caring for our cash?

Above all though, let’s take an active position on what we condone where investment is concerned. For me this is still the most persuasive and difficult to ignore argument for moving your money. I realise that the prospect of making some 0845 phone calls and doing the relevant paperwork may not be appealing, but like it or not, money in the bank equals endorsement of their principles. If you’re not down with the arms trade, environmental exploitation and irresponsible decision-making, what are you waiting for? Without wanting to invoke clichés about the journey of a thousand miles, moving your money to a bank with nothing to hide is one decision you can make today which signals one less individual who is willing to sit back and watch as profit continues to be put before people. And that can only be a good thing.”

Guest blog: Abundance Generation

2012-03-31T08:00:00+00:00

Bruce Davis is one of the original co-founders of Zopa, the highly successful peer-to-peer lending site. He’s recently set up Abundance Generation, the ‘first community investment platform that makes it possible for people to earn a cash return by investing in renewable energy farms in the UK’. He also happens to be an anthropologist, deeply interested in the social aspects of money. In this post he explores why we might want to move our money, and reconnect to real value.

Look me in the eyes. You believe that money has real intrinsic value. Now, when I click my fingers, you are ‘back in the room!’

We live in a world that believes that money has intrinsic value, as if you could eat it. Trying to subsist on money though, is a bit like trying to eat a centimetre.

In the 20th Century we started to confuse the functions of money as a medium of exchange and as a store of value. Money is now the dominant medium of exchange because we trust that other people will also accept it in exchange for things we need or services we give. Money is now the measure of all things, but it is just that, a measure. Dollars, Pounds, Euros and Rupees are all just different names for the things we use to measure the value of something.

Unlike the centimeter though, the original of which is kept in France, there is no ‘ultimate’ money from which all other money is judged to measure value (nor is money backed by gold any more, although you still find politicians who don’t realise that fact). Rather our acceptance of money is a function of shared social and cultural beliefs.

The problem however, is that our political masters believe that money is also a store of value and want us to believe the same. However, money has no intrinsic value, and simply creating more of it through unproductive lending to speculative activities merely reduces the value of the money you already have, generating inflation. Believing that printing more money makes you richer is like believing that creating more centimeters can make a person taller.

So what are the real ‘stores of value’ in our society? Essentially these are assets which generate stuff, by producing more stuff from nature (digging up stuff or growing stuff essentially), making things (although this only creates value if you can sell it to someone for more ‘stuff’ in return) or generating from unlimited renewable resource – such as renewable energy.

Wealthy people have long realised this, and taken advantage of this. Their wealth doesn’t come from ‘money’ as such, but rather their investments in other assets. The comedian Miles Jupp sums it up when he recounts an anecdote about being mugged. “Give me all your money”, says the mugger. “Happy to,” says the rich man, “but it will take a while as it is all tied up in land. Let me take your details and I will send you a cheque in a few months.”

This is why wealthy individuals have tended to do rather well out of the financial crisis. As money has been devalued by quantitative easing and bank bailouts (essentially we now have ‘shorter’ centimetres with which to measure the value of things) the effect has been to make the ‘value’ of their real assets increase when measured in terms of money.

So what can you do? Certainly moving your money into the likes of The Co-operative, Zopa or the credit unions means that you are directing money to more ‘productive’ investments and assets, such as community enterprises and renewable energy. We’ve also just launched a new platform which enables you to put your money directly into UK renewable energy assets, just as the rich do, but from as little as £5 per investment. Abundance Generation is the part of a new wave of “democratic finance”. It allows you to have direct control over where your money goes, but also allows you to diversify your money out of “money”, offering you a sustainable way to produce real value both for yourself and society as a whole.

Be Money Smart and Ethical: Move Your Money to an Ethical ISA, now!

2012-03-27T09:00:00+00:00

April 5th is the end of the Tax Year. Banks everywhere are telling us that now is the perfect time to invest in an Individual Savings Account (ISA). Opening an ISA with an ethical bank provides a great and easy opportunity to both invest smartly and start to change the banking system.

Quite simply, an ISA is a savings account where the interest made on your savings is not taxed. If you shop around, ISAs can offer higher interest rates than ordinary savings accounts too.

Opening an ISA in the next week could bring you huge benefits. On April 5th the deadline date passes for investing this years cash ISA allowance of £5,340, and a new financial year starts. So, if you had £10,000 to save you could put £5,000 in an ISA now and still be able to put a further £5,000 in the same ISA after April 6th (when the allowance for 2012/13 will rise to £5,640). You needn’t worry if you don’t have this kind of money to invest. ISAs allow you to invest a minimum of £1 and with high interest rates they, offer the opportunity for ordinary people to make straightforward investments which let their savings grow. “This time next year Rodney”, and all that.

Another straightforward issue is that people should be allowed a say over where their money is invested. Lloyds Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays all invest in arms companies, environmentally detrimental projects, and in propping up dictators. Is this really what we want for our money? The great thing about ISAs is that there are numerous banks and credit unions out there which marry an ethical ethos with competitive rates. Currently, Lloyds offers a rate of 2.65%, Halifax 3.05%, Natwest 3%, and RBS 3%. Compare this with the London Credit Union (3%), Charity Bank (2.5%) and Triodos Bank (2.5%) that offer competitive rates and something that you can’t put a price on: the knowledge that your money is being invested in charities, improving our environment and local community projects.

Similarly, there are financial bodies offering far better customer service than the major institutions. First Direct, Co-operative Bank, and Coventry Building Society top the Which? list for Best Customer Service. Halifax, RBS, and Santander came in the bottom three.

ISAs offer a simple way to make great savings. Moving Your Money before April 6th will enable you to make the most of those savings. But Moving Your Money to an ethical ISA provides not only competitive rates, but also much more: the knowledge that your money is going to projects that help communities not arms companies, as well as giving you far better customer service.

Billions of pounds are saved in ISAs each year. Imagine if all that money was put in banks that work in the interest of individuals and society!

Matt Hawkins works in the transport industry and runs a blog called The Reading List.

Move Your Money teams up with NUS to help students switch

2012-03-25T23:00:00+00:00

Young people are suffering some of the worst effects of the bank-driven recession of 2008, with graduate unemployment at its highest for over a decade.

But students and young people also have huge power to help build a better banking sector. The big banks count on attracting students with short term offers in the hope of making serious money out of the, for a long time - statistics show that you're more likely to get divorced than to move your bank account.

Move Your Money is delighted to launch a guide in partnership with NUS, specifically aimed at helping students to help change all that.

Dannie Grufferty, NUS Vice-President (Society and Citizenship), said: “Students have a long history of using our power as consumers to put pressure on big companies and bring about an end to unethical practices.

“Young people are suffering because of an economic crisis that they did not create and moving our money is a simple way to demand better for banks in the future.”

The guide sets out a simple five step guide which show how simple it is to switch banks, and dispels myths about switching your overdraft: almost all accounts with an overdraft can be transferred to a different provider. In fact, if you're a recent graduate struggling to pay off your overdraft before your bank starts charging hefty fees, it may be cheaper to ask for a loan from your local credit union, as our case study, Charles, explains below.

But the campaign doesn't end with individual students moving their money. Move Your Money wants to empower student groups to pick up the Move Your Money message and run with it - by setting up their own groups and lobbying their student unions to move their money too. Groups are already starting up in Manchester and Leeds as students realise this is a great way to engage with the financial sector and tell the banks that we won't wait for change - we'll build it ourselves.

Download the flyer here Page 1 and Page 2

Read an account of one recent graduate who's already made the move. Charles Richer-Smith from Kent shows us how it's done.

"I'd been thinking about moving my money from Barclays for a while: I don't think there's many people out there that presently agree with much, if anything, of what the banking sector have been doing since the bail outs. Their excessive bank charges, tax avoidance, filthy investments (like tar-sands) and generally side stepping all regulations are major issues that definitely need to be sorted. However for me it was the news that, despite owing the earth to the governments that bailed them out, they are still avoiding taxes and most off all, still awarding MASSIVE bonuses to the heads of the banks regardless of the fact they're still causing us to teeter on the brink of another recession.

Seeing a small amount of information on the Move Your Money campaign was the final kick I needed to get out of high street banking. When I went to their website and found that the ethical score of Barclays to be the worst of all of them that was it, I was switching!

Using the information on this site, I found out about local credit union current accounts and the cooperative bank accounts and made the switch to the Cooperative bank.

The main road block for me was the need to clear a fairly large student overdraft before being able to close my account completely. After a little research I found loads of local credit unions that can fund this with a loan (I ended up going for a 'save as you pay' loan from Kent Credit Savers).

I think what I liked most about this process was when I rang up to enquire it became quickly apparent that I was speaking to the owners of these credit unions rather than some faceless drone in a call centre.

Overall I can't see why it's taken me as long as it has, it was completely painless and so easy to do online. I think it's something everyone that believes in changing the way the banking system works should investigate. We've already seen that lobbying won't change the way they work, regulations haven't work even attempting to occupy the financial sector got squashed before getting close. The only thing they care about is their profits. We need to hit them where it hurts."

Charles Richer-Smith is a recent graduate from Kent. You can follow him on Twitter @ThoughtDiver.

Guest blog: Bankrolling climate change

2012-03-23T10:30:00+00:00

There are plenty of reasons to be angry with the big 5 UK high street banks right now. Recklessness, risky spending, tax avoidance, abusing government support, continuing to award obscene bonuses to senior management to name but a few. But here's one that might not seem immediately apparent: climate change.

The connection between your high street banks and climate change may not appear immediately obvious. When you pop into your local bank to deposit some cash you are greeted by a friendly cashier in a shiny clean enterprise, not a dirty building with a massive chimney spewing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

But who do you think finances the factories? Factories require large amounts of capital, and without some serious help from a bank most would not get built. Banks provide direct corporate loans as well as investment banking services (such as helping companies sell bonds and shares.)

And this damning recent study shows that UK high street banks are among the biggest culprits. The study put Barclays, RBS and HSBC in the top 20 world banks financing coal-fired electricity and coal mining since 2005.

Barclays (in fifth place) has spent a phenomenal €11,514 million. This includes providing more than €35 million in finance to Indian Mining company Vedanta Resources which has resulted in widespread illegal tree felling, intruded on local tribes and caused water scarcity and pollution. It has also provided Dynegy-LS Power with credit as they have built 12 new coal power plants in the USA – these plants will put out more than 65 million tonnes of CO2 per year!

RBS, HSBC and Barclays all participated in financing €70 billion for energy giant E-ON which, in 2008, proposed to build the first coal-fired power station in the UK for 30 years in Kingsworth, Kent, as well as announcing plans to build a further seventeen coal and gas-fired power station in Russia.

The report also points out the hypocrisy in these banks' statements: RBS states it ensures that “As a financial services group our direct impact on the environment in terms of climate change … is limited”. Not that limited, since it spent €10,694 million financing coal since 2005, and is the UK's biggest tar sands funder. In fact, there has been such anger about RBS' alleged greenwashing that it has been forced to pull out as a sponsor of Climate Week.

In contrast, the Co-operative Bank's ethical investment policy prohibits it from financing any oil, coal or gas projects.

But remember, banks use your money. You give a bank your money to keep it safe, the bank loans it to someone else to make money from interest. The more people who use a bank, the more money the bank has to turn into profit.

If we stop giving money to these banks, if we show them that we do not support dirty coal factories and tar sands, if we trust our money instead to banks that invest in clean, ethical, sustainable projects then these banks will not be able to turn a profit. So move your money – and give the coal-financing banks something to be angry about.

To find out more about banks' dodgy dealings go to www.banktrack.org

Sarah Arnold is Co-Director (International Programmes) of UKYCC, and is currently an economics student at the University of Edinburgh.

Guest blog: Pigs can’t fly – but good banks do exist!

2012-03-16T09:00:00+00:00

It is easy, now that “banker” has become a dirty word, to dismiss the entire industry as a complete waste of time. The resignation declaration from a Goldman Sachs’ executive director, published in the New York Times on Wednesday and referring to a bank whose environment is “as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it”, has swept round Twitter like a cyclone, further confirming the public’s view of the shocking state of the industry. But it needn’t be like that.

The reputation of the high street and of investment banks has been tarnished by years of careless investment, disregard for customer service and a display of arrogance only slightly less extreme than Mr Banks’s institution in Mary Poppins. At the same time, smaller, less flashy banks and building societies have been continuing to lend responsibly, safeguarding depositors’ money and investing in projects that have people, the environment and local communities at the heart of their decision making.

We need banks. We want to be able to put our money away safely, to have access to it when we want to spend it, and we want our savings to be growing. Charities and social enterprises frequently need access to loan finance as much as their profit-making counterparts.

But it’s not true that ethical banking is eccentric, risky or low-yield. Ethical banks offer mainstream, regulated products. An ethical ISA will offer you the same return as many of its high street counterparts, but the money invested will be doing good while it waits for you. Indeed, returns on ethical ISAs are likely to be sustained rather than enter a downward spiral the moment you’ve signed up. Charity Bank’s policy is to lend only to charities and social enterprises, while being fair and transparent and offering customers a competitive return.

Our message to Greg Smith, the disillusioned executive would be: come and talk to us; banks can be different.

Mark Howland, Charity Bank

Guest Blog: It's World Consumer Rights Day!

2012-03-15T09:00:00+00:00

A message from Consumers International’s president, Jim Guest, on World Consumer Rights Day.

Every year the global consumer rights movement celebrates World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on 15 March. Consumer rights groups across the world come together, often around a common campaign theme, to ensure that consumer rights are not ignored when decisions that affect us all are being made.

This year, CI and many of its members will be campaigning for real consumer choice in financial services on what is a particularly special WCRD.

This 15 March marks 50 years since US President John F. Kennedy became the first ever serving world leader to directly address the issue of consumer rights. In his statement to the US Congress in 1962, President Kennedy said:

“Consumers by definition, include us all. They are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. Yet they are the only important group... whose views are often not heard.”

Kennedy went on to outline a set of consumer rights which have, over time, developed into eight principles that inspire much of the work consumer rights groups do today: the right to safety… to be informed… to be heard… to redress… to consumer education… to a healthy environment… to the satisfaction of basic needs... and, the right to choose.

All of these rights are just as important today as they were 50 years ago. Yet, it is this final right, the right to choose, that will stand out most on 15 March 2012.

Consumer groups around the world are calling for consumers to have a real choice when it comes to financial services. Too often markets for financial services are dominated by a small number of providers meaning there isn’t any real competition. Even when consumers spot a better deal they find it, costly, confusing, or downright impossible to change accounts or services. As a result dissatisfied consumers are putting up with poor services and banks have no reason to improve.

This is a problem for consumers across the world; whether it concerns changing current accounts, swapping insurance providers, trying to send money overseas, or getting access to basic financial services in the first place – the consumer right to meaningful choice must be at the heart of these services.

When President Kennedy first set out the meaning of consumer rights the world was a very different place. And yet, consumers continue to affect and be affected by almost every economic decision. As consumers, we are at the heart of many of the challenges and opportunities faced by the modern world. But, while our money speaks, our voice is still often not heard.

Spurred on by the words of JFK, the consumer rights movement is fighting to ensure that the rights of consumers are never ignored.

Happy World Consumer Rights Day

Jim Guest Consumers International President

Press release: Move Your Money Manchester

2012-03-14T12:00:00+00:00

Campaigners and local residents of Manchester went to Market Street on Wednesday 14th of March at 1pm to move their money from mainstream banks to more ethical banking systems.

Following the national Move Your Money campaign, launched in London, Manchester campaigners have run workshops to promote ethical banking with the aim of raising awareness and providing alternatives. Many customers are angry at their current banks due to the recent recession starting in 2008, the direct result of a financial crisis caused by the gambling of an irresponsible cartel of banks. Customers who no longer want to support banks that caused the crisis and have no genuine ethical investment policies can act against them and send a signal to the market by moving money to more ethical alternatives of banking such as credit unions, ethical banks and building societies.

Stephen William, MP is supporting Move Your Money UK:

“I support Move Your Money UK’s campaign to tackle excessive remuneration and short-termism in the British banking system using consumer power to ensure it serves the needs of our society. We need more mutual, local and ethical financial institutions to challenge the dominance of the big four banks.”

Jamie Audsley, 28, a teacher and community worker who lives in West Norwood closed his current account with RBS and cut up his bank card:

“I'm so frustrated that RBS, a bank owned by the taxpayer, is still not listening to us its shareholders or our elected representatives. That's why I've joined this campaign today to make them listen to us as customers.”

Guest blog: Friends of the Earth supports Move Your Money Month!

2012-03-13T19:00:00+00:00

David Powell explains why Friends of the Earth supports Move Your Money month.

What a cracking initiative Move your Money month is. I’m really pleased to say Friends of the Earth are on board as supporters – and here’s why.

We’ve spent four decades campaigning against environmental destruction and injustice. Much of this is down to the billions of pounds channelled by the likes of RBS and Barclays into projects like oil pipelines, toxic tar sands, and greedy loans for dirty coal and gas. Without big, bad cash, you couldn’t have big, bad projects.

As Tim Hunt from Ethical Consumer says:

“Barclays, RBS and HSBC have also recently been singled out by the Ecologist for involvement in some of the world's most environmentally damaging projects, including mega coal fire power stations and open-pit gold mining. Barclays, RBS, and HSBC all make it into the list of top 20 'Climate Killer' banks for their involvement in funding the coal industry in particular."

I needed a Move your Money month when I was younger. It took me far too long to twig that shifting my bank account was one of the most powerful and positive things I could do.

I was 14 when I set up my first account. Off I toddled, all grown up, to my local bank; signed lots of forms; and deposited something weighty like two quid. I gave less than a second’s thought to the bank I chose. It was one of your usual high street lot - the closest one to my house, which was the deciding factor if I’m honest.

Ten years passed. All that time, the bank took the money I deposited (or, to be honest, the money I paid them on interest on my overdraft), and invested it in whatever they chose. I was none the wiser. It never really crossed my mind that my meagre stash could be used to support corrupt dictators or environmental abuse. The penny finally dropped when I received a thorough talking to from an ethical pensions chap of my acquaintance.

Cue fervent switching. Setting up a new account in a smaller and fundamentally nicer bank took me half an hour, maximum – plus I got to have the splendid satisfaction of telling my old bank, when they asked, exactly why it was I didn’t want to give them my salary any more.

Friends of the Earth works closely with banks like Triodos and the Co-operative. We support their commitment to ethical investment when it comes to social, environmental and human rights, and make no apologies for encouraging people to switch to them. I’m not sure there’s a lot of point ‘doing your bit’ in things like recycling and green lightbulbs if you entrust your dosh to a bank to do unspeakable things with.

So hooray for Move your Money month. Here’s hoping that bucketloads of people will heed the call and take half an hour or so to switch off their old, dirty bank account and do something more ethical instead.

After all: it’s your money.

Guest blog: Move Your Money Into Community Energy

2012-03-11T12:00:00+00:00

Agamemnon Otero, Co-Founder & Project Manager of Brixton Energy, tells us about this exciting new project that combines community empowerment, addresses climate change and offers an alternative way to invest your money.

“This week I closed my ecological stock market investment fund and moved it to a real ecological investment I could see. Brixton Energy Solar 1 is a local inner city socially responsible renewable energy project investment with better financial and social rewards.” Jason Neylon, 35, London

"Just knowing some of those electrons are turning on my lights is awesome, and as a bonus I get a return on my investment.” Katia Wengraf, 28, Loughbrough estate resident and investor

Move Your Money is taking great strides to give people investment options other than the big banks. Community renewable energy projects like Brixton Energy Solar 1 are fast becoming an investment options to the “Big Six” who control 96% of the UK energy market.

You have been locked out of the energy market. Not only have you and I been locked out of investing in our energy, we have been force-fed fossil fuel. Investment into community-owned renewable energy unlocks the door to ownership, the type of energy generated, where it comes from, who makes it, and the amount of carbon reduced. Co-operatives are not-for-profit organisations that are jointly owned and operated by a group of people for their mutual benefit. They are democratic enterprises, operating with a one member, one vote policy. These co-operative models allow people to buy up to 20,000 shares in a project. Here, larger invested shareholders do not get to steer projects for personal gain since whether they have one or 20,000 shares, each has only one vote.

Although investment into renewable energy projects has hit at an all time high in the last 10 years, 78% of global energy consumption is still fossil fuels. Equity and debt finance of multinational utility firms, developers, institutional investors, and banks whose main objective is to provide fiduciary profits, constitute 90% of this sector. Renewable energy generated from the sun, wind, tide and biofuels make up 19% of this. Renewable energy projects are funded by these same corporate models, and corporate investors.

Renewable energy is not being developed by multinational utility companies at a rate that scientists believe will offset climate destabilization. Simply put, the rate of return to risk-ratio for size and technology of renewable energy projects is not attractive to corporate investors. While governments try to promote renewable energy projects by offering subsidies like the Feed in Tariff (FiT) to make investment returns more attractive, they are not giving anywhere close to what they gave to oil, gas, coal and nuclear industries in tax relief. The main governmental party argument is, “We need to keep giving the fossil fuel industry incentives for energy security”. In the current recalibration of governmental incentives there are no provisions for community owned renewable energy. But surely nothing is more secure than the proliferation of decentralized energy generated from clean fuel technologies. And it can be done,- Denmark for instance has 40% community owned renewable energy compared to UK’s 1%.

Here and now in London a share offer is open until March 20 Brixton Energy Solar 1 is the first inner-city co-operatively owned power station built on social housing and has also pioneered a self-sustaining, financially viable Community Energy Efficiency Fund.

Visible inner-city projects like Brixton Energy Solar 1 allow passive viewers to contemplate and control personal energy consumption. Facilitating a share offer for end user individuals in the community to invest in, and receiving financial returns builds further awareness. Generating and maintaining a Community Energy Efficiency Fund from a portion of the annual revenue allows practical application, a hands on re-skilling and energy efficiency education. These three elements, generating, educating and investing allow individuals to be part of the solution to a low carbon future. Empowered individuals joined as communities find more time for contemplating change, which in turn triangulates and resolves indifference.

Move your money into Brixton Energy Solar 1 • Be at the start and a part of community owned renewable energy in London. • Be a part of the first community owned renewable energy on social housing. • Help set up a Community Energy Efficiency Fund that will run for 25 years. • Help offset 20 tonnes of carbon per annum. • Receive up to 3% return on your money.

“How can I do this?”

Read through the offer and invest £250- £20,000 by March 20. If £250 is out of your range a bunch of friends can chip in. Just designate one as share-holder. Conversely, if £20,000 is no skin off your back, consider allocating your annual share payment to our Community Energy Efficiency fund. Last week two people convinced their employers to match fund their investment. Please consider this if it applies to you.

Don't bank on the bomb!

2012-03-06T15:00:00+00:00

Tim Street, Coordinator, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN-UK) www.icanw.org.uk

Have you ever wondered what kind of companies your bank invests in and who it lends to? According to a new report released today by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the answer could be that your bank supports a company producing nuclear weapons. The 180-page study, Don’t Bank on the Bomb: The Global Financing of Nuclear Weapons Producers exposes how more than 300 banks, pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers in 30 countries have substantial investments in major nuclear weapons companies. Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, who features in the report, urges anyone with a bank account or pension fund to ‘choose to invest his or her money ethically’ and in a way that does not contribute to the ‘earth-endangering enterprise’ of nuclear weapons production.

Making nuclear weapons is a lucrative business. Nuclear-armed nations spend in excess of $100 billion each year maintaining and modernising their nuclear forces. The UK itself intends to spend more than £25 billion over the next two decades just building new submarines to carry its nuclear warheads. The final bill for replacing Trident - the UK’s nuclear weapons system - is likely to reach more than £100 billion.

Five of the twenty major nuclear weapons companies listed in the report - Babcock International, BAE Systems, Redhall Group, Rolls Royce and Serco Group - are UK-based. All of these companies are heavily involved in the manufacture, maintenance and modernisation of Trident. Financial institutions invest in these companies by providing loans and purchasing shares and bonds.

Significantly, the UK is also home to 41 of the 322 financial institutions found to be supporting major nuclear weapons companies. Of these, the most heavily involved in financing nuclear arms include Barclays, HSBC and the part-publicly owned Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Lloyds says its support for nuclear weapons companies is justified because the British government considers its nuclear weapons to be legitimate. Lloyds stated that, 'Whilst the UK government remains committed to maintaining its nuclear deterrent, and considers this vital to our national security, we must continue to provide the essential finance to the companies that make this deterrent possible.'

Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system is made up of four nuclear submarines, one of which patrols the seas at all times, carrying up to forty nuclear bombs. Each of these bombs is around eight times as destructive as the bomb which flattened Hiroshima in 1945, killing over 140,000 civilians.

ICAN campaigner Tim Wright, a co-author of the report, points out that any use of nuclear weapons - by the UK or any other state - would violate international law and have catastrophic humanitarian consequences. Wright says that by investing in nuclear weapons producers, banks and other financial institutions ‘are in effect facilitating the build-up of nuclear forces. This undermines efforts to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world and heightens the risk that one day these ultimate weapons of mass destruction will be used again.’ Wright argues that instead of building a new generation of nuclear weapons, the UK should honour and implement its existing disarmament commitments by scrapping Trident and supporting negotiations on a global abolition treaty to ban nuclear weapons permanently and ensure their elimination.

To this end, South African activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, calls on financial institutions to ‘do the right thing’ and end their support for nuclear weapons manufacturers. In doing so, Tutu says, financial institutions will ‘assist, rather than impede, efforts to eliminate the threat of radioactive incineration.’ Tutu points out that divestment was a vital part of the successful campaign to end apartheid in South Africa and argues that this tactic ‘can – and must – be employed to challenge man’s most evil creation: the nuclear bomb. No one should be profiting from this terrible industry of death, which threatens us all.’

You can view and download the full report at: www.dontbankonthebomb.com

Move Your Money Month begins – Pledge to Move Your Money Now!

2012-03-01T08:00:00+00:00

Today, Move Your Money Month begins.

On-going bonus culture, failing to meet lending targets to small business and increasing customer complaints has been the narrative for the exasperated public this February. Post the financial crisis, behaviour in the city hasn’t changed and it’s high time something was done about it.

March 2012 is Move Your Money Month. We’re calling for people to move their money from the 5 big banking groups into local, mutual and ethical alternatives.

Pledge to move your money now.

Move Your Money isn’t about ‘bringing down’ the big banks (they can do that just fine by themselves, thankyou). This is about strengthening the alternatives and creating a more diverse system that works in the interest of wider society.

As part of MYM month we’ll be launching our own ‘ISA page’, starting projects working in schools and with the National Union of Students and collecting signatures for an EDM. We’ll be linking up with interested groups around the country, encouraging local action and supporting events at Credit Unions.

We’ll be collecting the stories of pledgers, inspiring others, and asking for your best ‘I’m cutting up my bank card now’ photos.

This March, whether it’s moving your current account, savings account, ISA or other financial product, make sure you’re part of building the solution. A system that is useful and secure; as well as economically, socially and environmentally fit for purpose.

Pledge to move your money now.

Tell your friends (you can pick a day to switch together), spread the word, get involved and this month, make sure ‘moving your money’ gets off the ‘to do’ list, and into the diary.

It’s time to make British banking better.

Press Release: Move Your Money movement spreads to Lloyds and other big banks

2012-02-24T11:00:00+00:00

A wave of angry customers are closing their accounts with the big banks in protest against bonus season and 'back to business as usual' in the City.

Peter Nicholls, 58, retired public sector lawyer, lives in Leicester. Peter is closing his account with Lloyds and moving to an ethical alternative.

"The banks have failed to serve the needs of the British people. I'm moving my money to Triodos, a bank I'm confident will put my money to better use."

His daughter Marloes, an economist, is in the process of moving her current account from Lloyds:

"I feel it's responsible to think carefully about where I keep my money. I moved my current account to the Co-operative Bank because I agree with their strong ethical commitments and I can be a member of the Cooperative Group, which means I can have a say in what the bank does with my money."

On Thursday the 23rd of February, as RBS announced a total £2bn loss and a bonus pool of over £390m, over 50 outraged RBS customers were waiting outside a central London branch ready to close their accounts, withdraw their deposits or protest directly to the manager.

Jamie Audsley, 28, a teacher and community worker who lives in West Norwood closed his current account with RBS and cut up his bank card:

“I'm so frustrated that RBS, a bank owned by the taxpayer, is still not listening to us its shareholders or our elected representatives. That's why I've joined this campaign today to make them listen to us as customers"

Leo Schwarz, a youth worker who lives in Brixton, also moved his money from RBS:

“I am moving my money as I have found out about all the brilliant alternatives to the high street banks. I no longer want to support a bank which does not invest in its local community and gambles with my future.”

Caroline Coombs a 36 year old TV director closed her account at her local RBS branch in Bristol:

"I decided to leave RBS because I don't want to save with a bank that thinks it is acceptable to blow millions of pounds on egos. Thanks to the Move Your Money UK, I have found a bank that has a social conscience and will not play with money as if it were money on a Monopoly board. The decline of the worlds finances is not a game."

Similar scenes played out in Leeds and Edinburgh. Kim Grant, 20, a student from Edinburgh is closing her student account with RBS:

"I've banked with RBS since I was a child, I was bought up to trust it as a Scottish institution. But since the recession has hit I have begun to find out about their investments in tar sands, munitions, cluster bombs and their central role in the collapse of the financial system. I now no longer agree that RBS is 'here for me' and that's why I'm moving my money to the Co-Op."

These customers are supporting Move Your Money UK, a new campaign encouraging people to move their money from the big plc banks to credit unions, building societies and specialist ethical banks.

Stephen William, MP is supporting Move Your Money UK:

“I support Move Your Money UK’s campaign to tackle excessive remuneration and short-termism in the British banking system using consumer power to ensure it serves the needs of our society. We need more mutual, local and ethical financial institutions to challenge the dominance of the big four banks.”

Louis Brooke, a spokesperson for Move Your Money UK said:

“Bonus season has shown that the big banks are intent on going back to business as usual. Across the sector profits and share prices are continuing to fall, small businesses lending targets have been missed and banks are paying out billions in compensation for misselling PPI. Do the banks, which are either explicitly or implicitly subsidised by the taxpayer, really expect us to be grateful for reducing their bonus pools?

By moving your money to an ethical, mutual or local alternative you are helping create a fairer and more sustainable and secure banking system."

March will see the launch of Move Your Money Month, during which the campaign will launch a guide to best buy alternative ISAs, starting an education program in schools and colleges up and down the country, and launch its principles of better banking. Also, the National Union of Students will be providing tool kits to help student unions move to ethical banking providers.

To find out more visit: twitter.com/moveyourmoneyuk/ www.moveyourmoney.org.uk www.facebook.com/MoveYourMoneyUK

RBS scores -13 on YouGov's consumer confidence index

2012-02-23T09:00:00+00:00

Recent polls show that half of all adults are dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with their bank; and 60% of British adults agree that the economic crisis has led them to trust high street banks less.

RBS, 83% owned by the taxpayer, scores -13 on YouGov’s consumer confidence index – the least popular bank in the country by this measure.

Yet still, as the public prepares for another burst of bonus outrage, the big five banks enjoy 90% market share.

Only 15% of British adults have switched bank accounts in the last five years; the average marriage ends more quickly than the average consumer’s relationship with their bank.

Five years into the financial crisis, and no amount of public anger, political debate or pressure for banking reform has led to significant financial reform.

The gulf between public opinion towards banking and individuals’ relationships with their own banks continues to grow, as the financial crisis has left consumers powerless and disengaged. Further complex, unresolved debate about the persistent failure of the British banking system to work in the interests of the many not the few, only intensifies individual inaction.

A healthy financial environment is one in which consumers are confident, informed and active. Rather than limiting consumers to waiting for change to come, we should be promoting individual agency and accountability – to build a financial sector that works all the way up from the bottom. Empowering consumers to understand and engage with ethical, social and mutual financial institutions strengthens the alternative banking sector, intensifies pressure on the big five banks and gives greater cause to the political agenda for change.

So for those closing their accounts with RBS today, this is not so much another opportunity to express anger, but to act on it.

To find out more and get involved, visit www.moveyourmoney.org.uk. Move Your Money is run by volunteers, if you think you can help please email danni@moveyourmoney.org.uk.

Bank Bonus Season is Underway

2012-02-20T12:00:00+00:00

Bank Bonus Season is underway. Over the next 2 weeks RBS, Lloyds and HSBC will announce how much money they’ve made or lost and how much they’ll be paying out in bonuses.

This year the banks are competing to show who is listening to public opinion, who has reduced their bonus pool the most, or which top executive is ‘nobly’ waiving their bonus. Phillip Hammonds heroic decision to forgo his bonus and Barclays choice of ‘citizenship’ as the theme for their annual results are cases in point here.

A simmering of distrust and frustration with the banking system is now an ever-present feature in British society, one that periodically threatens to spill over into wider discontent. Bank bonus season is one of those moments. Bonuses are a lighting rod for public anger with a banking system that is no longer working for ordinary people.

There is clear injustice in a failed industry which is still explicitly or implicitly subsidized by the taxpayer, awarding a small elite of its workers multimillion ‘compensation’ packages (could there be a more revealing choice of word?) whilst the public face austerity cuts, a drop in real income and growing unemployment.

But the anger about bonuses taps into something deeper. The fact that big banks continue to pay big bonuses shows that the culture in the City still hasn’t changed - and the public have had enough.

The public recognize that the banking system is the railroad tracks on which our economy run, as such they have an irrefutable interest in ensuring it works in the interests of wider society.

We need a banking system which fulfills its basic functions: connecting lenders and borrowers to provide credit households and businesses, keeping our money safe, and enabling us to make and receive payments. On at least two of these counts the banking system continues to fail us.

We need a different culture of banking. Relying on individual bankers to do the ‘noble thing’ isn’t sustainable or desirable and top down reform can only take us so far. We all have a stake in the banking system - as citizens, depositors, or as owners – and it’s up to us to make a change.

Bonuses aren’t the only problem with the current banking system by far, but they are a good reminder that our banking system is no longer serving our needs. We need something better.

By Moving Your Money to a local, mutual or ethical alternative you are not only supporting a banking system which better serves the needs of our society but you are sending a clear message to the big banks that it cannot be back to business as usual.

Join us and PLEDGE TO MOVE YOUR MONEY on the day your bank announces its bonuses: RBS (owns Natwest and Ulster ) – Thursday 23rd February; Lloyds (owns Halifax, BoS) – Friday 24th February; HSBC – Monday 27th February.

Planning on moving? Please email your story to contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk now! Come down to the RBS ‘Better Bailout’ – 8.45am, Feb 23rd. For further details and to start you own see here.

Comparativa de Bancos, helping Spanish people to move their money

2012-02-19T12:00:00+00:00

Antonio Romero, founder of a Spanish website called "Comparing Banks", supports Move Your Money UK and shares some personal finance advice...

I started a blog back in 2008 when I was looking for a way to compare bank rates and couldn't find a website to help me. Tired of my money being frozen in an account with very low interest, and receiving no better offers from my bank manager, I started looking for places to move my money to. The blog I wrote during this experience has since become a leading comparator of financial products in Spain, Comparativa de Bancos.

Some advice from Comparativa de Bancos:

Don’t fall in love with your bank. Would you ever dream of marrying a selfish partner? Bank employees work for bonuses which they get by selling what the bank tells them to, not by doing what's best by their customers.

Make banks work for your money. Banks need money and they pay for it when they borrow from other banks so, why don’t you ask for your piece of the cake? If you don’t like risks, invest your money in fixed term deposits and saving accounts. Even if you have a little money spare, it will be better than doing nothing with it.

Clue up on personal finance. Yes, everybody hates economics and personal finance but it would be the best time invested in your life. You don’t need to be a City guru but at least learn what compound interest is and how to have your money invested in financial products that make your wealth grow. Also, learn the difference between deposits where, your money is safe and the interest is guaranteed, and funds that offer the potential for greater profits but also carry risk of losing money.

Take your time and ask for advice. People spend more time reading reviews for a £500 computer or £200 jeans than for studying where to contract their £300,000 loan that they will be paying for their entire lives.

Realise that nobody will care for your money more than yourself, so use it smartly. A universal formula doesn’t exist, and each one of you should have your money in different products.

Cash account (current account). A minor amount of your money should be cash. The equivalent to two or three months of your salary or even less for your daily and incidental expenses.

Accessible Savings account. Everybody should have a savings account. They offer some interest without any commission costs and full access to your money.

Fixed Term Deposits. Your money will usually be blocked for a period of time in these products but you will benefit from greater interest rates. Therefore, use deposits from 6 to 12 months, maybe also 18 months long but no more because you might need that money, and fill face a penalty to take the money out early.

Funds and the stock exchange. These are the holy grail to master and where so many people have lost money. It is difficult than any of you beat the markets so, If you're willing to take on some risk but don't have time to look at the markets everyday to see if you are winning or losing, you should find the best investment fund you can find out there.

A last word. Nowadays, bank managers are changing more often and moving from one office to another so they can't “feel” anything for their customers. The result is that they offer lower interest rates and lower quality products than they should.

Go out there and move your money!

A Better Bail Out #2 - Get out of RBS, 23rd Feb

2012-02-15T17:50:00+00:00

On the 23rd February, RBS will announce their 2011 Preliminary Results. Despite the public uproar forcing CEO Hester to forego his £1m, RBS is expected to pay around £500m in bonuses. Many bankers will receive significantly more than Hester was going to.

Bonus culture persists in this 83% taxpayer-owned bank alongside 33,000 job losses, low share prices and failure to meet their lending targets for small business. It sits in stark contrast to the stagnating economy, austerity cuts and job losses experienced by the wider public following the £45bn RBS bailout.

Bonuses are one of many problems in British banking, and serve to remind us that our banking system is failing households, businesses and wider society, just to line the pockets of the few. Government promises to effect change show no sign of going anywhere. It’s up to us to change things.

Change happens when we act. And where we keep our money matters.

On 23rd February say ‘no’ to business as usual for the big banks, and help build a better banking system.

Be outside an RBS branch on Thursday morning ready to move your money. You don’t have to be an account holder to tell the bank that you, or your friends and family, won’t put up with this greed.

London 8.45-9.15am 127 High Holborn, WC1V 6PP Facebook event

Leeds 8.30-9.30am 27 Park Row, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS1 5QB Facebook event

Nothing happening near you? Get in touch with contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk if you want to organise your own! Can’t make that time?

On the day, send us your RBS stories, your pledges to move or photos cutting up your card.

Guest blog: We have the power to do banking differently

2012-02-14T09:00:00+00:00

Anna Laycock, Communications and Research Manager, Ecology Building Society

Sometimes an object is so familiar to us that we forget what it means. Imagine your bank card – and the money it represents. What do you see? A sign of your success, or a source of worry? Something that enables you to enjoy life, or merely get by? It’s more than that. What you’re actually looking at is your power.

As citizens, we’re outraged by the behaviour of the big banks and the control they seem to have over our economy, society and government. As consumers – of financial services, and of money itself – we have the power to change the way the big banks behave. At Ecology we call this the democratisation of money, and we think it’s the key to a better future.

The way our financial system is now is not the way it has to be. It doesn’t have to be the remote, self-seeking, labyrinthine system that is incomprehensible and unaccountable to the average person. It is for us, as citizens and consumers, to decide what sort of financial system we want and to take action to make this a reality. Do we want a system that causes the economic fragility and social inequalities we see today? Or do we want a system that supports sustainable, equitable communities, wellbeing for all above greed for the few?

For us, Move Your Money isn’t just about making a personal decision to move to the alternative. It’s about making the alternative the norm. Moving your money is a way to show the mainstream banks that this is the way we want all banks to behave.

The success of the Fairtrade movement was built not just through every conscious choice to buy a Fairtrade product, but through the messages sent to big corporations about what we want and expect of them. When banks realise that consumers will act on their principles, those principles become a central business issue.

We know the alternative works. Ecology Building Society has been providing ethical savings accounts for over 30 years, using the money to fund properties and projects that respect the environment and encourage sustainable communities. Our savers put their money with us because they trust us to use their savings wisely – because we’re completely transparent about our driving principles and how this translates into the way we operate. As a mutual, we are a democratic organisation, owned by and ultimately accountable to our members. We’re here for long term change, not short term shareholders.

We know the alternative works because we’ve not just survived the last 30 years – we’ve thrived. In 2011 our assets passed the £100m milestone for the first time, reflecting the growing importance savers have placed on responsible banking practices since the events of 2008. People who switch to us find they’re not just joining a building society; they’re joining a community of people who use their money to shape the world they want to see.

Take another look at that bank card. It is your power, and what you do with it matters. Every individual choice can be a choice for business as usual, or change. What will you do?

Find out more about Ecology at www.ecology.co.uk and join the debate via Twitter www.twitter.com/EcologyBS or Facebook www.facebook.com/EcologyBS.

Guest blog: Ethical Consumer's Banking Report and Broader Political Action

2012-02-11T16:00:00+00:00

Ethical Consumer's new March 2012 Banking Report is now uploaded to its website. It has been timed to link in with this year's banking campaigns and provides some core data for the Move Your Money UK website.

Before you look through the alternative providers on this site, or in Ethical Consumer's new report, the following points will help you think about which account would be right for you to move:

• Savings Accounts are the easiest to move. Just open up a new one and transfer the money over.

• ISAs are also pretty easy to move, but follow the advice so as not to lose its tax free status.

• Mortgages are more complicated to move but they are a source of large profits for problem lenders to spend on things like absurd bonuses and tax avoidance.

• Current Accounts are more complex but teams of switching specialists should be on hand to help at the new bank you want to move to.

• Consider holding some savings in a local credit union or smaller, regional, building society as an investment in your local community.

• If you do close your account for ethical reasons, (a) remember to sign up to the Move Your Money UK pledge, and  (b) write to the bank to tell them why.

Press release: Depositors protest as Barclays results announced

2012-02-10T09:30:00+00:00

Today, as Barclays announces pre tax profits of £5.9bn and a total bonus pool of £2.9bn, a queue of over 40 people formed outside its Southampton Row Branch London, to close their accounts, move their money or hand in letters of intent. Similar scenes played out in Leeds.

The action was called by Move Your Money UK in the build up towards ‘Move Your Money Month’ in March 2012.

Danielle Paffard, spokesperson for Move Your Money says:

"The public shouldn’t be fooled by a percentage drop in bonuses, the levels are still ludicrous for a sector so heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. Today’s bonus announcements are symptomatic of a system operating in the interest of the few rather than the many, and act as a lightening rod for wider public discontent. "

"That Citizenship was the key theme of Barclays report is ludicrous. They received more complaints that any other bank in 2011. It's no great wonder that the bonus pool is down 26%. Why would shareholders want to reward staff whilst share prices and dividends are still low."

Jesse Scharf, 23, who closed his account today says of the bonus announcements:

‘Yes, of course I’m angry about the bonus announcements today. The British public should be. This is a sector that has received an enormous subsidy from the taxpayer – either directly through bailouts or through implicit subsidies in the case of Barclays.

The fact they are paying huge bonuses while the economy stagnates and the public deal with austerity cuts and rising unemployment is outrageous.’

Sheryl Godlum, 46, ex city-worker who closed her account in Leeds today and moved to a credit union says:

‘The culture in the city needs to change. It’s not enough just to ‘hope’ bankers will waive bonuses when PR turns sour, and the government isn’t taking meaningful action to address the problem. We need to start moving our money and supporting financial institutions that work for us, the public, and start to build a better banking sector.’

James Taylor, 62, lawyer who closed his account today:

‘I’ve been meaning to shut my account for a while because of Barclays’ terrible human rights and ethical record. Move Your Money has provided that final push.

By taking the simple and positive step of moving your money you can send a clear message that you’re not happy with business as usual; we have power as consumers to create a banking system that works for society."

Move Your Money’s launch was noted in an Early Day Motion last week sponsored by Stephen Williams MP on ‘Control of High Pay By Consumer Power’ asking Move Your Money UK to ‘work constructively with the Secretary of State to tackle excessive pay’.

Move Your Money UK follows a successful US campaign in which 10 million accounts have moved since 2010.

Similar actions are to follow for next bonus announcements.

END

Notes to editors

Tel: 07725 461 679 / 07979817888 – all case studies available for interview Email: press@moveyourmoney.org.uk, www.moveyourmoney.org.uk

The protest took place outside Barclays branch, 56 Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4NB, between 8.30am and 9.30 am Friday the10h of February.

March will see the launch of Move Your Money Month, during which the campaign will be promoting ethical ISAs, starting an education program in schools and colleges up and down the country, and launching a petition promoting better banking. The National Union of Students will be providing tool kits to help student unions move to ethical financial providers.

The alternative financial sector has flourished in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Since 2007 Charity Bank has seen its deposits and balance sheet double in size, whilst Triodos’ balance sheet grew by 30% in 2009 alone, and savings in credit unions increased by 300% over the last decade. With the possibility of the Coop becoming a major player on the high street, the alternative financial sector is heading mainstream.

Press release: Outraged Barclays customers queue to close their accounts

2012-02-09T12:00:00+00:00

This Friday, as Barclays announces it annual results, over 50 outraged Barclay’s customers will be queuing up outside a central London branch ready to close their accounts or protest directly to the manager. These angry customers are supporting Move Your Money UK – a new campaign harnessing consumer power to make a better banking system. We expect to see similar scenes in Oxford, Leeds and Sheffield. The bonus pool for Barclays investment bankers is predicted to be as much £1.5 billion - including a £2.5 million bonus for CEO Bob Diamond, bringing his total pay packet to £11 million. Leomi Potter, a 25 year old supply teacher who works in London, will be moving her money this Friday: “I’ve wanted to leave Barclays for a long time. Their customer service is atrocious. The fact that they are even considering paying out £1.5 billion in bonuses shows that they don’t care about their customers.” This year, Barclays received more complaints than any other UK Bank. Move Your Money UK encourages people to move their money from the big PLC banks to credit unions, building societies and ethical banks such as Charity Bank and Triodos. Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Cooperatives UK, is supporting the campaign: " At an individual level, you can't do everything to put an unfair economy right - but you can do something. Move Your Money is the new fair trade. It is THE campaign for our time." Louis Brooke, a Spokesperson for Move Your Money said: “Politicians may be able to pressure Hester into waiving his bonus but they can’t change the culture of banking. That’s up to us as citizens, consumers and investors.“ “Moving Your Money sends a clear message to the big banks that it cannot be back to business as usual, we want a financial system which works in the interests of wider society not just the few.” Move Your Money UK is working in partnership with Ethical Consumer who are launching their report of ethical personal finance today. Author of the report Rob Harrison said: “Our report into personal ethical banking shows that there is an alternative to the current flawed banking system, one which is just, fair and sustainable.” Move Your Money UK’s launch was noted in an Early Day Motion last week sponsored by Stephen Williams MP on ‘Control of High Pay By Consumer Power’ asking Move Your Money UK to ‘work constructively with the Secretary of State to tackle excessive pay’. March will see the launch of Move Your Money Month, during which the campaign will be promoting ethical ISAs, starting an education program in schools and colleges up and down the country, and launching a petition promoting better banking. The National Union of Students will be providing tool kits to help student unions move to ethical financial providers. END Notes to editors Contact: Louis Brooke e: Louis@moveyourmoney.org.uk, t: 07725 461 679 The protest will take place outside Barclays branch, 56 Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4NB, between 8.30am and 9.30 am Friday the10h of February. Oxford protest will take place at Barclays, 54 Cornmarket Street 8.30am and 9.30 am Friday the10h of February Leeds protest will take place at Barclays Bank, West Riding House, 67 Albion Street, Leeds, LS1 5AA The alternative financial sector has flourished in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Since 2007 Charity Bank has seen its deposits and balance sheet double in size, whilst Triodos’ balance sheet grew by 30% in 2009 alone, and savings in credit unions increased by 300% over the last decade. With the possibility of the Coop becoming a major player on the high street, the alternative financial sector is heading mainstream.

Press release: Move Your Money UK: harnessing consumer power to create better banking

2012-02-08T12:00:00+00:00

Bank reform is back on the agenda. Yesterday, Parliament debated responsible banking against the backdrop of public anger at bankers' bonuses, the looming anniversary of the Merlin agreement and reports from the Bank of England and BIS showing that net lending to business is continuing to fall.

Move Your Money UK believes that top down reform can only take us so far. We must harness our power as consumers to change cultural attitudes inside and outside the banking sector and strengthen local, mutual and ethical alternatives.

Louis Brooke, a spokesperson for Move Your Money UK said: “It is only by harnessing our power as consumers that we can secure an accountable, responsible and socially useful banking system.” Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Cooperatives UK is supporting the campaign: "At an individual level, you can't do everything to put an unfair economy right - but you can do something. Move Your Money UK is the new fair trade. It is THE campaign for our time."

Mark Lancaster, conservative MP for Milton Keynes North, is an advocate of credit unions:

"Local and mutual financial providers, such as credit unions, are a safe and credible alternative to High St banks for people who can't access the financial system or are unhappy with the mainstream."

"The Move Your Money UK campaign encourages community led engagement with the financial system and works to strengthen alternative financial institutions that are heralding a new age of banking." Move Your Money UK’s launch was noted in an Early Day Motion last week sponsored by Stephen Williams MP on ‘Control of High Pay By Consumer Power’ which asked Move Your Money to ‘work constructively with the Secretary of State to tackle excessive pay’. Move Your Money UK is about more than anger at high pay. March will see the launch of Move Your Money Month, during which the campaign will be promoting ISAs offered by alternative providers, starting an education programme in schools and colleges and credit union branches up and down the country, and launching a petition promoting better banking. The National Union of Students is onboard too, and they will be providing tool kits to help student unions move to ethical banking providers.

In the long run the campaign aims to develop a constructive dialogue between the public and the financial sytem through consumer power, shareholder activism, public policy and community engagement. Contact Louis Brooke e: louis@moveyourmoney.org.uk t: 07725 461 679 The Bank of England found that net lending to businesses fell by more than £10 billion in the last year whilst BIS found that lending to small businesses dropped by over 6% between 2010 and 2011.

‘Responsibility and Reform in British Banking’ – Parliamentary debate – 3.30pm Tuesday 7th Feb

2012-02-07T13:28:00+00:00

Motion proposed: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmagenda/ob120207.htm.

Move Your Money UK comment:

Move Your Money UK welcomes today’s debate in Parliament on responsibility and reform in British banks. We believe that the issues raised in the motion, including excessive pay and failing to provide appropriate credit to the real economy, need to be tackled as a matter of urgency. We also note that while symptomatic, these are not the only issues compromising the ‘responsibility’ of our banks.

We believe that generating meaningful change in the banking sector will require both tighter regulation of the big banks and a significant strengthening of alternative providers which internalise the needs of wider society in investment policies, business models and governance structures. Move Your Money UK aims to use consumer power to both raise awareness around and support mutually owned, ethical and socially useful banking providers.

The campaign launch was noted in an EDM last week on ‘Control of High Pay By Consumer Power’ with encouragement to ‘work constructively with the Secretary of State to tackle excessive pay’.

We believe maintaining long term ‘public interest’ in the banking system will require constructive engagement between banks and consumers. Move Your Money is about engaging the public with the financial system and channelling the public interest so that the financial system responds to, and acts in, it. Our end goal is to see a financial system that works for people and society because there is an open and constructive dialogue between the two.

If the debate on responsibility and reform of the banking system is therefore to create meaningful change, particularly through empowering citizens and consumers, it must consider what legislative action must be taken to facilitate the growth of the alternative sector and the ability of consumers to engage with it.

We’ll be watching the debate closely. Follow us on twitter.

Guest blog: The heart of banking

2012-02-06T14:00:00+00:00

It’s time to rethink the role of banks in society, says Bevis Watts (Head of Business Banking, Triodos Bank).

The combination of a push of activists occupying streets across the globe, and the pull of an ever worsening economy, is brewing up the perfect storm for banking. With liquidity pricing at its highest since the fall of Lehman Brothers, it could well get a lot worse. But despite this, the fundamental role of banks in society still isn’t receiving the attention it deserves.

Perhaps as a society we’ve become so blind to banking’s potential for good, that while we express frustration at the unacceptable behaviour of banks, we can’t actually imagine them doing anything else. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The role of banks is no longer an academic exercise, but a timely and fundamental question.

Picture society as a human body. If money is its lifeblood, then banks should act as society’s heart – determining where that blood is required and pumping it across. If the heart is healthy, the body will be able to access the resources it needs to remain healthy. But without a conscious approach to the flow of money, the malaise in the society will feedback to the banks and infect them. The financial crisis has proven that when the banks fail, the whole of society suffers. And as the very organisations that brought the economy to its knees, it’s morally and practically right that banks take an active role in helping to build it back up again.

So what should the future of banking look like? We believe that banks and money should act as enablers of positive change, but it feels as if the financial sector has lost its way in terms of purpose and potential. We need to see the industry focusing more on the real economy and supporting its future, rather than operating with a primary mission of delivering short-term shareholder returns.

Research commissioned by Triodos shows that five in six people believe their bank should play a role in helping society. Two thirds (64%) wanted to see more investment in communities. Just 3% of savers feel banks are transparent about what happens to their savings once deposited. We can guess why. At present, only a fraction of the money lent and invested by the main banks is used to bring about positive change. Clearly the banks’ customers do not think this is good enough. It’s a call to action for policymakers, shareholders, and bank executives: they have to ensure the banking sector gives more back to society, rather than just taking.

A compelling alternative to banking as we know it is a shift towards smaller banks, and more of them. It’s a model that could help banks to deliver benefits to society while limiting the financial sector’s potential to harm it.

These smaller banks could operate on a human scale. They could specialise, and pass expertise onto their customers. The more focused they can remain on the direct impacts of the finance they provide, the more emphasis they can place on its environmental and social advantages.

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values is an independent network of banks which aims to use finance to deliver sustainable development for people, communities and the environment. It demonstrates how a new model made up of smaller, interconnected banks can work. While they serve very different communities, from urban San Francisco to rural Mongolia, they learn from each other, sharing ideas on long-term sustainable thinking, new forms of ownership and economic cooperation.

Crucially, scaled-down banks would be small enough to fail. One of the cruellest ironies of the financial crisis has been that banks – which often act as judge, jury and executioner for struggling businesses – have not been forced to play by their own rules. Arguably, smaller banks would not benefit from the economies of scale enjoyed by today’s banking behemoths. But, while it’s questionable whether these savings are passed on to the consumer, there’s no doubt that the cost of their failure has been.

The banking industry owes an awful lot to society. A little open heart surgery is exactly what it needs to start making repayments.

This article was first published in Green Futures magazine, January 2012.

Guest blog: The Town that is Moving Its Money

2012-02-04T12:00:00+00:00

Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Cooperatives UK

I was in Lincolnshire this week, visiting the local co-operative society. Kirton-in-Lindsey is a local town that is losing its only local bank and responding by moving its money.

Closing the last bank branch in town can be like pulling the plug on a local economy, because people travel and spend money elsewhere and local businesses have nowhere to turn. HSBC, I was told, has promised never to close the branch but had now decided to axe it. One of the reasons was that it thought that local people would not switch to another bank. If no more than ten per cent switched, the closure was profitable for the bank, even if disastrous for the town.

But there is a local Post Office located in a store run by the Lincolnshire Co-operative Society. Local members of the co-op worked out that they could use the Co-operative Bank at the Post Office. So they got in touch with the nearest branch, in Scunthorpe, which is part of the Britannia building society now merged with the Co-operative Bank. The staff there bent over backwards to help.

At a local meeting just days ago, with two hundred people present, the community committed to moving their money. The Co-operative Bank will now run 6 surgeries over time for local people to make it easy for people to switch.

The town that is moving its money may not be the last one to do so. The Campaign for Community Banking Services tracks branch closures and has seen a dramatic rise from HSBC, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland / NatWest. Derek French from the campaign has sent me this chart, which shows the rise of closures. A public outcry in 2000 at the swathe of local closures led to a series of commitments from the big banks to keep communities banked. That commitment now looks hollow.

If you want the world to be a better place or your local community to thrive, you have to take action. Public inertia is as good as a bonus for bankers.

Kirton-in-Lindsey in North Lincolnshire, by necessity, is the first Move your Money capital of the UK. We all now need to pledge to join in.

Chart source: BBA Annual Abstract of Statistics 2011 and research by the Campaign for Community Banking Services

A Better Bail Out #1 - Break up with Barclays, 10th Feb

2012-02-02T15:48:00+00:00

FEBRUARY 10TH - BONUS ANNOUNCEMENT DAY

On 10th Feb Bob Diamond and his pals will announce how many millions they wish to award themselves in bonuses this year. The pool is expected to top £1 billion.

On the 10th February be outside a Barclays branch ready to Move Your Money.

Whether it’s shutting your account for good, making that first withdrawal or signing a letter of complaint to Barclays, come and join the ‘Better Bail-Out’ and get your money out of Barclays, and into something better.

Letter for customers and angry citizens alike is here. We'll bring along some copies! Info on how to switch here.

Also - please enjoy this video video. What were they thinking!?

London 8.30 - 9.30am Barclays branch, 56 Southampton Road, London, WC1B 4NB - Facebook event

Barclays ticks every box for a failed model of banking. Since the banking crisis Barclays has continued to pay executives annual bonuses of tens of millions, and to decrease lending to the small businesses they had promised to support. Of all the big banks, Barclays receives the most complaints from the public to the UK Financial Services Authority.

Abroad, Barclays invests in the arms trade including the manufacture of deadly illegal cluster munitions and depleted uranium. It has regularly been accused of large scale money laundering. Barclays supports oppressive regimes such as Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, and is estimated to avoid between £800 million and £1billion in tax every year. In early 2012 it won the annual World Development Movement “Shame” award for food speculation: making hundreds of millions of pounds from betting on food prices and pushing millions into poverty and malnutrition.

This year, don’t let them gamble with your money.

Together, we have the power to change British banking for the better. Move Your Money!

SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!

Know any other Barclays customers? Bring them along too! We need to make sure on Bonus Day 2012 Barclays get the message loud and clear that the British public are not best pleased.

Get in touch with contact@moveyourmoney.org.uk if you want help organising your own event. Check here for events in other cities.

Video: Kate leaves Santander for her local credit union

2012-02-02T11:00:00+00:00

Earlier this week, Kate Panton closed her savings account with Santander in Southwark so that she could move her money to her local credit union.

Kate moved her money on the day that Santander admitted that its UK business had to pay up to £538 million in compensation to victims who had been inappropriately sold payment protection insurance (PPI) products.

Here's what Kate had to say: “I’ve been thinking about leaving Santander for a while. There’s been quite a few stories in the press about Santander investing in arms companies and their customer service is notoriously bad and this is the final straw!’

“By moving my money to a credit union I know that it is being put to use for the benefit of the local community and that I will have a say in how the union is run.”

Kate shut her account in protest and moved her money to her local credit union. You can do it too! Pledge now.

Guest blog: Move Your Money - time to take matters into our own hands

2012-02-01T12:00:00+00:00

Andrew Simms, New Economics Foundation Fellow

In a single month last year, October, an estimated 650,000 people in the United States closed their bank accounts and moved their money to a credit union. They are part of a growing movement of people who are voting with their savings against the mainstream banks. What is driving it? A lack of meaningful reform, failure of the big banks to support the useful economy, an unshakable financial culture of massively disproportionately pay that puts bankers on another economic planet - there are many, many reasons why.

Strikingly, a better banking system is being born not as a result of an intelligent response to the financial crash from governments and regulators who still seem not to understand the scale of necessary change. No, the new financial system is growing beneath their feet because people want something better.

Now the UK has its own version of the United States’ campaign. Move Your Money UK launched at a citizens assembly organised by nef, Compass and the South Bank Centre called In The Public Interest. The campaign invites people to move their money from the big banks, all of whom to some degree were implicated in the financial crisis, to more ethical providers like the mutuals, co-ops, green saving schemes, credit unions and others.

The event heard from Editor of the Guardian newspaper, Alan Rusbridger, who recently championed the public interest in disclosure campaigns targeted at the media, government and police, and the leading thinker on the role and importance of the public sphere, Richard Sennet.

From nef’s work with Compass setting up the Good Banking Forum, and our lobbying around the Independent Commission on Banking, it was clear to us that systemic faults with the financial system were being met only with minimal reforms.

Several things might explain why. There’s a strange sense of denial in the financial sector itself about how flawed their operations have been. And, an equally strong resistance to understanding the full implications of their only having been saved by massive public intervention – and the continuing quid pro quo for still being businesses that, almost uniquely, are explicitly publicly underwritten.

When the RBS chief executive Stephen Hester was forced by public pressure to decline a bonus of nearly $1 million, the response of financial sector was telling. In tones that implied the end of civilisation, City voices decried the 'political interference' in the running of RBS. The same voices were, of course, much quieter when 'interference' saved them from themselves.

Oddly, of course, political interference in terms of elected representatives defending the public interest in state owned and publicly underwritten banks has been remarkable by its absence. Over half of the Conservative Party’s funding comes from the financial sector, and while the government comfortably promoted a cap on welfare benefits for those made unemployed and who are to a greater or lesser extent victims of economic circumstance, but baulked at the idea of capping the bonuses of those who caused the recession.

The long shadow of the failure of finance is still with us. On the day that Stephen Hester was forced to forego his bonus, it was announced that home repossessions had hit a two year high, and that the share of income of the UK’s poorest 20% was today 43% lower than it was in 1978. In our finance driven economy, much less of the benefit of economic activity has been reaching those on low pay.

In an interesting logical twist, the president of the Confederation of British Industry argued that the public interest activism that forced Hester to decline his bonus was, in fact, against the public interest

The Prime Minister and Chancellor both uphold shareholder activism as the best check on City excess. But, as ultimate overseers of the public interest in state-owned RBS, when it came to act on the bank’s unreformed bonus culture, did nothing. In this way they merely reinforced the view of many that, while a nice idea, in reality shareholder activism is a paper tiger.

Things have been equally bad on continental Europe where Germany proposed that Greece abandon its fiscal sovereignty which is, in effect, its democracy, to serve the interests of a financial sector wanting a return to business as usual.

It’s hardly surprising then, that dismayed at the inaction of their elected representatives, people have started organising their own alternatives.

For these reasons, and the fact that the UK stands to benefit hugely from having a more diverse, safer and socially and environmentally focused banking system, nef is delighted to welcome Move Your Money UK onto the scene. Please tell your friends and colleagues about it. This is a chance to make some difference. I strongly suspect that moving your money will also make you feel good. As the campaign says, its time to ‘Bank On Something Better.’

Video: A Tale of British Banking

2012-01-31T15:00:00+00:00

Watch our CAMPAIGN VIDEO and hear what Mary Poppins has to say about building a better banking system.

Guest blog: When you are asleep, what does your money get up to?

2012-01-31T09:09:00+00:00

Mark Howland, Marketing Director, Charity Bank

There are many of us who try hard to do the right thing. We may buy Fairtrade food, worry about our carbon footprint and recycle our packaging. Yet most of us have not the slightest idea what our money is doing when we aren’t spending it.

For the majority of us with accounts in high street banks, it’s not that we don’t care; it’s that we don’t know. A survey commissioned by Charity Bank last autumn revealed that 78% of us are not sure what our banks are doing with our money. They are not obliged by law to tell us, and we don’t like to ask. Stories such as the Independent’s last summer, which revealed how UK high street banks are funding the arms industry, make us uncomfortable but unsure what to do. Changing bank accounts is a hassle and it is much easier not to think about it.

The good news is that there are alternatives out there. Since the economic crisis, alternative providers have benefited from public distrust of major high-street banks and at Charity Bank this has seen our deposits book doubling in size since 2007, to over £65million today.

While mainstream banks are often focused solely on the principle of profit maximisation, alternative providers implement the triple principle of profit-people-planet. For Charity Bank this means we adhere to three principles that are in short supply with high street banks:

Responsibility. We know our customers personally and expect our borrowers to use loans responsibly and only for the greater good.
Transparency. Unlike many mainstream banks, Charity Bank knows and shares where we lend our savers money.
Sustainability. While most mainstream banks are focused on creating short term profit, Charity Bank is focused on creating long term social change. We reinvest our entire surplus for charitable purposes.

So if you are wondering whether to open a new savings account, give some thought to the good that your money could be doing while it’s invested. It will help you to sleep more easily.

Charity Bank is an ethical bank that offer savings accounts and an ethical ISA where customers not only receive a competitive return, but can also be confident that their savings will help Charity Bank lend money to charities and social enterprises.

Charity Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (207701) and is a registered charity (1091648). Registered Office: 194 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent. TN9 1BE. Registered in England and Wales (4330018).

Press release: Santander results today - £538 million mis-selling scandal – accounts closed this morning in protest – expecting more to follow.

2012-01-31T09:00:00+00:00

Santander customers, outraged by the extent of the Santander PPI mis-selling scandal have moved their money in protest as part of a new campaign, Move Your Money UK, who’s online pledge tool launches today.

In its results announcement today, Santander admitted that its UK business had to make provisions to pay up to £538 million in compensation to victims of inappropriate PPI products it mis-sold.

Emily, 24, student moved her money this morning:

“Customer service at Santander has been absolutely awful. A £538 million mis-selling scandal from this bank comes as no surprise to me! I’ve decided it’s time to move my money in protest’

Chris Clarke, 31, Communications executive cut up his card this morning.

‘The current bonus controversy focused my mind. I've always believed in the power of consumer boycotts. Ultimately, I think government should act to regulate the banks but in the meantime, the more of us do this, the more chance they'll change their policies.’

Kate Panton, 26, works for Citizens Advice Bureau in Southwark, London. Closed her savings account with Santander in Southark this morning and will move her money to a local credit union.

“I’ve been thinking about leaving Santander for a while. There’s been quite a few stories in the press about Santander investing in arms companies and their customer service is notoriously bad and this is the final straw!’

“By moving my money to a credit union I know that it is being put to use for the benefit of the local community and that I will have a say in how the union is run.”

The campaign follows the Move Your Money Project in the US which has seen over 4 million people move their accounts to local banks since last September.

A spokesperson for Move Your Money UK said,

‘Over the next few months we’re expecting thousands of people to start moving their money. The banking system isn’t working for people, small business or wider society, and bonus season really bring this sharply into focus!’

The alternative financial sector has flourished in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

The campaign is being supported by Cooperatives UK, Ed Mayo Secretary General said,

" At an individual level, you can't do everything to put an unfair economy right - but you can do something. Move your money is the new fair trade. It is THE campaign for our time."

Notes to editors

Campaign spokes people and ‘card-cutters’ available for interview

Santanders results today: http://citywire.co.uk/money/santander-uk-profits-down-over-40-after-ppi-scandal/a562492

Kate Panton has decided to Move Her Money to The London Mutual Credit Union, the Executive Director is availabe for comment.

The four major high street banks held £9bn worth of shares in Arms companies in 2008 (War on Want)

The loss of output to the UK because of the 2008 financial crisis was £140bn, over time it could be up to £7trn! - that’s £112,000 per person in the UK (Andrew Haldane, Executive Director, Financial Stability, Bank of England, 09)

Between 2009 and 2010 banks were estimated to make £11.2bn from overcharging. That’s £430 for every household in the country. SOURCE - Financial Inclusion Centre and Cooperatives UK

Press release: Outraged depositors move their money in protest at bonus announcements

2012-01-30T19:23:00+00:00

Bonus season is upon us. Stephen Hester's decision last night to waive his £1million bonus in the face of growing political and public pressure will be a relief for the Government.

But depositors who don't want to depend of the benevolence of individual bankers to turn down their bonuses have decided to move their money in protest. They are part of a new grassroots campaign going live this Tuesday, Move Your Money UK.

Florence Roberson, a 25 year old waitress living in Bristol has her current account with NatWest but decided to move her money after hearing Stephen Hester's bonus announcement

"I joined NatWest when I was student because they offered a free young persons rail card and I've been with them ever since."

"I was outraged at Hester's bonus announcement and its obvious that he would've accepted it if it wasn't for the massive public pressure. I've got so many friends who have been to university, got a good degree but are still struggling to find work, and to hear that the CEO of a publically owned bank was offered a bonus worth near £1million beggars belief."

She is supporting Move Your Money UK, a new campaign encouraging people to move their money from the big plc banks to ethical, local or mutual financial institutions.

The campaign follows the Move Your Money Project in the US which has seen over 4 million people move their accounts to local banks since last September.

The campaign is being supported by Co-ops UK, Ed Mayo Secretary General said,

" At an individual level, you can't do everything to put an unfair economy right - but you can do something. Move your money is the new fair trade. It is THE campaign for our time."

A spokesperson for Move Your Money UK said,

"Why should the public submit themselves to the benevolence of the bankers in the hope that there are more Philip Hammonds than there are Fred Goodwin's in the City?"

"Regulatory and even structural reform can only take us so far. The only way of securing a sustainable, accountable and fair financial system is through a shift in cultural attitudes both inside and outside of the financial sector."

"And that's up to us as citizens and consumers. When people choose where they keep their money, they are choosing between supporting business as usual or taking a simple but powerful step towards a better banking system."

The alternative financial sector has flourished in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Since 2007 Charity Bank has seen its deposits and balance sheet double in size, whilst Triodos' balance sheet grew by 30% in 2009 alone, and savings in credit unions increased by 300% over the last decade. With the possibility of the Coop becoming a major player on the high street, the alternative financial sector is heading mainstream.

Danielle Paffard, Move Your Money UK campaign manager will be appearing at the Southbank Centre alongside Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre Jude Kelly and Richard Sennet at a debate on Power and the Public Interest.

http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/literature-spoken-word/tickets/in-the-public-interest-63511

To find our more about Move Your Money visit www.moveyourmoney.org.uk

Notes to editors

Contact Louis Brooke, Move Your Money communications officer: louis@moveyourmoney.org.uk, 07725 461 679

Florence is deciding whether to Move her Money to the Co-op or her local credit union

The four major high street banks held £9bn worth of shares in Arms companies in 2008 (War on Want)

The loss of output to the UK because of the 2008 financial crisis was £140bn, over time it could be up to £7trn! - that's £112,000 per person in the UK (Andrew Haldane, Executive Director, Financial Stability, Bank of England, 09)

Between 2009 and 2010 banks were estimated to make £11.2bn from overcharging. That's £430 for every household in the country.

SOURCE - Financial Inclusion Centre and Cooperatives UK

Move Your Money UK launches!

2012-01-30T10:15:00+00:00

The banking sector isn’t working for people, small business or wider society. Despite plunging the economy into the worst recession in living memory and enjoying the biggest tax-payer bailout in history, big banks continue to profit while public services and local economies starve.

As bonus season kicks into full swing, we’re reminded once again that banks aren’t going to change themselves.

This week sees the launch of a new campaign ‘Move Your Money UK’. Because where we keep our money matters.

Banks rely on the deposits of ordinary savers. So when you choose where you keep your money, you are choosing between supporting business as usual, or taking a simple but powerful step towards a better banking system. By moving your money you can directly support an ethical and socially useful bank, and send a clear message about the sort of society and economy you want to see. And one you’d rather not.

The tide is turning. Politicians are starting to talk about ‘responsible capitalism’ and boosting the co-operative sector, but they are long on talk and short on action. From civil right activists creating local banking in the US, to Barclays pulling out of Apartheid South Africa – changes happens when we act.

In October last year, 650,000 Americans moved their money from the big banks to credit unions. 10 million have moved since 2010.

March 2012 is 'Move Your Money Month'. The month when we act together, move our money, and begin to change British banking for good.

Pledge to Move Your Money now and join the movement for better banking.

"At an individual level, you can't do everything to put an unfair economy right - but you can do something. Move your money is the new fair trade. It is THE campaign for our time." - Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Coops UK