Banks are still bastards!

Well! Well! Well! Here we go again. An Australian bank, again, accused of fraud, greed and extracting money, by any and all means possible, from unsuspecting customers. I am writing specifically about the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) – Australia’s biggest bank.

When will banks learn that their first duty (repeat first duty) is to provide the best service they can to their customers, not, (repeat not) to shareholders or other stakeholders.

Bank’s must remember at all times, and never forget, that money comes from people, their customers – individual, commercial and industrial. There is no other source of money. Money was developed by people for people to facilitate trade. Banks, as we recognise them today, did not appear until about six centuries ago, with the Venetians.

Without customers (people) there would be no money and, by default, no need for banks. It would seem very obvious to me that the primary concern of any bank should be its customers. This is called “service” – a term that has been all but forgotten.

For any bank and in particular Australia’s largest bank (the CBA), to so fail in its fiduciary duty to its customers as to stand guilty of fraud and general mismanagement of its financial investment division is almost beyond belief.

That the regulatory authorities in the guise of the Australian Investments and Securities Commission (ASIC) were so dilatory in their duty as to allow this to happen, is again, almost beyond belief.

For those who may not have followed the recent revelation about the CBA it is a fact that thousands of trusting customers have lost their life savings – hundreds of millions of dollars – through questionable advice offered by questionable bank staff  advising customers to invest in questionable financial schemes. And to top it all some records apparently have been altered, forged or lost so it is unclear as to exactly how many customers have been defrauded and  exactly how much money is involved.

That other banks are involved in similar schemes will become clearer in due course.

But the fault, in this instance, lies squarely with the bank (the CBA), its management and general culture of greed and seeking profit at all costs without any regard for the consequences. How apposite is the old saying in this case - “the biter bit”!

I reckon the old Australian term, “banks are bastards” is still very much alive and still very valid!

(Amended 24/07/2014)