If anything shows us the current banking model is broken, it is the additional profits made by the country’s top four lenders as a direct result of soaring mortgage rates and their simultaneous refusal to raise interest rates for savers. This should be a wake-up call to show us that enough is enough, and the banking industry needs to change for good.
The banking industry is rooted in the traditional profit extraction practices that keep profits high and returns to customers low. And, due to the “era of easy money” where borrowing costs were low and we saw little movement in the Bank of England base rate, customer inertia became even more pronounced. This inertia means that customers are sticking with their bank despite below-par products even though they are being taken advantage of as someone profits from their savings.
High inflation remaining steady and consumers struggling with the cost of living crisis shows it is simply unacceptable for banks to be putting profits above their customers. We must actively pressure banks to pass on rates to savers and encourage consumers to shop around and find the best deal so that they can make the most of their money, or their bank will.
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