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: