Guess who is dispensing an array of marketing advice?

I received the following mailshot the other day – I am just quoting some sentences which I found fascinating: ‘Following the economic crisis….customers want to enjoy a meaningful relationship with the companies they choose to engage with.’ ‘Businesses of all sizes can benefit from using technology as a way of making customers feel valued.’ ‘I...

Small firms desert the banks in favour of alternative lending sites

Marketing advice from a bank manager

I got a leaflet the other day from a famous bank where the Executive Director (sic) is dispensing his advice. He suggested that “businesses of all sizes can benefit from using technology as a way of making customers feel valued, such as using new media as a way of responding promptly….”. I wonder if this...

Bank of England v Treasury

Do Businesses really need another government scheme? You got to love it when our learned leaders contradict each other in public. The battle ground this time is house ownership. The Bank of England calls for less owner occupation and the Treasury has announced a few days ago (a few weeks ago) that they would be...

If you love red tape...You'll love the new National Loan Guarantee Scheme

Do Businesses really need another government scheme? After reading about the new ‘National Loan Guarantee Scheme’ courtesy of George Osborne – I breathe a sigh of frustration. Not only is this set to follow in the footsteps of previous schemes which became failed initiatives it is a boost to the red tape industry! No doubt...

Money Laundering Regulation Going Mad

Here’s a real experience from one of our clients. A father guaranteed his daughter’s mortgage. He was already the client of the bank concerned. The bank insisted that the daughter receive independent legal advice – fair enough. So, in the first instance the bank carried out its anti-money laundering procedures for the daughter. Then the...

Mirror Mirror on the wall - who's the best risk advisor of them all (RBS?)

We all know about the RBS story – what happened and why it happened. Fair enough in a way that’s history and RBS is in good company with the other banks. I do like their marketing though. If you read their marketing you believe the world is in order and RBS is the saviour of...

Are Bankers bonkers (or are we bonkers?)

Today I read that banks profits are currently rising because of “Fair Value Accounting of Own Debt”. I immediately sense that this has nothing to do with good lending or customer service. I think I understand this as follows. Banks have their own debt, but if the markets think they are a bit shaky, the...

Incentive for Banks - Quantitative Easing Translated in to English

“I can’t guarantee that it means that bank lending will rise, but what I do believe is that it won’t fall as far as it might otherwise have done” – I am quoting Mervyn King the Governor of the Bank of England when he announced that the Bank has injected £75 billion into the economy....