Banks, bonuses and blame!

Are we really a country of bank-bashers? Is the government doing enough to restrain bonus-mad bankers? Robert Powell hits the streets to find out...

Reporting season has just begun and banks are unveiling big profits as well as big bonuses.

But while huge pay packets may be good news for some, they won’t do the banking sector’s public image any good. But do we really hate our banks as much as the media seems to suggest?

I’ve hit the streets to find out...

What’s the best thing about your bank?

Most people I’ve spoken to today certainly don’t hate their bank, but they still wouldn’t recommend it to a friend.

And if new research is to be believed, this is a nationwide trend; over 10 million bank customers cannot find a single reason to recommend their bank to someone else.

The figures from Triodos Bank show that the main reason for this banking grief is bad customer service – with 38% of those who said they wouldn’t recommend their bank citing poor service as the reason.

29% of people went one step further and said they wouldn’t refer a friend because their bank didn’t treat them as an individual.

What do you think about when choosing a bank?

According to the stats from Triodos, one in five people will opt for a bank near to where they work or live at the time of choosing. While 19% will simply choose a bank that has lots of branches.

Despite customer service being a main cause of dissatisfaction for the banking public, many do not actually consider this when choosing a bank in the first place.

In fact, only 6% of the people surveyed chose their bank based on its customer service.

Are bankers paid too much?

Bankers pay and bonuses are a controversial topic; 37% of the people who said they wouldn’t recommend their bank said the banks’ excessive pay and bonuses was the main reason why.

But it’s these huge pay packets that the government is attempting to crack down on through their Project Merlin banking agreement.

The agreement includes RBS, HSBC, Lloyds and Barclays and states that bonuses will be in total lower than last year and solely based on performance.

The banks must also disclose the pay of their five highest paid executives below board level. But this will exclude top-earning traders who do not have managerial responsibility.

It’s also important to remember that most of the bankers receiving these hefty bonuses will be the traders and executives working in the bank’s investment arm – not the staff you’ll see when you pop down your local branch.

Do the banks get an unfairly hard time?

Most of the people I’ve spoken to today think that banks deserve to be scrutinised but still don’t think the government are doing enough to clip the wings of the banks after the disaster that was the credit crunch.

The Treasury have increased their levy on bank profits to £2.5bn this year –raising an extra £800m.

And the Project Merlin agreement will see banks make £190bn of credit available to businesses in 2011 – with £76bn specifically earmarked for smaller businesses.

The problem the government has is if they get too tough on the banks –they may just pack up leave, taking their billions of pounds of tax payments and thousands of jobs with them.

So while many of us may claim to hate banks – it’s probably more a case of can’t live with them, but definitely can’t live without them. 

More: How David Cameron secretly keeps tabs on your money | It’s time we benefitted from massive bank profits!