Changing bank culture: Hold individuals responsible

For far too many people, the phrase “bank customer care” has become an oxymoron mocking the unequal relationship between financial institutions and everyday customers. It may have been different when you could actually phone your local branch and speak to a human, but modern banking is increasingly self-service and remote from consumers.

Yesterday, speaking at the launch of the Irish Banking Culture Board, which hopes to rebuild trust in the sector, junior finance minister Michael D’Arcy told bankers they are on their “last chance” to restore faith in the industry. He reminded them of the tracker mortgage scandal, which had done “terrific damage”. His assertion is accurate, but maybe he should consider how his Government’s softly-softly response to the fleecing has negatively influenced perception of politicians. It is hard to understand why no prosecutions were initiated. That any sanction imposed on the banks is ultimately paid by customers just rubs salt into that wound.