THE rot set in when banks, building societies and insurance companies no longer regarded customers as requiring a service but as potential buyers of financial products.
THE rot set in when banks, building societies and insurance companies no longer regarded customers as requiring a service but as potential buyers of financial products.
Custom byline text:
The findings of a survey by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) released yesterday confirm what consumers already know. Even after the near-collapse of major British banks, the institutions have remained obstinately focused on extracting profit from their customers oblivious to the fact they were losing their trust. Bank of Scotland and Halifax customers may not be surprised to learn that Lloyds Banking Group's failings were so serious it has been referred to the FSA's enforcement division and may be fined. Before HBoS became part of the Lloyds Group in the taxpayer bail-out, the target-driven culture had become apparent when a cabbage was placed on the desk of an employee deemed to be underperforming. It would appear that at some banks cabbages have been replaced by carrots of a size to skew the advice offered by staff towards specific products. Incentives revealed by the FSA's survey included a £10,000 "super bonus" for the first 21 staff to reach a target, effectively turning their jobs into a race, while others could be £10,000 better or worse off depending on what they sold.
We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
Hard work required to rebuild trust in banks
THE rot set in when banks, building societies and insurance companies no longer regarded customers as requiring a service but as potential buyers of financial products.
The findings of a survey by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) released yesterday confirm what consumers already know. Even after the near-collapse of major British banks, the institutions have remained obstinately focused on extracting profit from their customers oblivious to the fact they were losing their trust. Bank of Scotland and Halifax customers may not be surprised to learn that Lloyds Banking Group's failings were so serious it has been referred to the FSA's enforcement division and may be fined. Before HBoS became part of the Lloyds Group in the taxpayer bail-out, the target-driven culture had become apparent when a cabbage was placed on the desk of an employee deemed to be underperforming. It would appear that at some banks cabbages have been replaced by carrots of a size to skew the advice offered by staff towards specific products. Incentives revealed by the FSA's survey included a £10,000 "super bonus" for the first 21 staff to reach a target, effectively turning their jobs into a race, while others could be £10,000 better or worse off depending on what they sold.
Commenting & Moderation
We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
MOST READ
SPONSORED LINKS
MOST COMMENTED