Positive Money: The People vs Big Banks

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Dear Friend,

We have a big battle on our hands. For every one meeting with people like us - members of the public - the government meets with nine lobbyists from big banks and corporations. [1]

This September will mark 10 years since banks’ reckless lending caused the global financial crash, so Positive Money needs to make a splash in the media with our message: “The banks got bailed out, we got sold out. We demand politicians fix our banking system before inequality and debt get out of control and bankers sleepwalk us into another crash.”

But here’s the thing, if we want our message to drown out the financial lobbyists, we need to make a BIG splash in the media. Simply put, that means we need some funding to make sure we hit the headlines.
If everyone reading this email chipped in just £5 today, together we could raise £20,000 by the weekend. Kofi, please will you chip in now so together we can get moving?

CHIP IN NOW

Here’s the plan:

- Already, thousands of Positive Money supporters have decided we want to turn the Bank of England into a financial crime scene on Saturday 15th September. [2]
- Now we need to commission an artist to create the scene: picture citizens in white forensic suits surrounding the Bank of England, covered in yellow crime scene tape.
- And commission a professional video to promote our action and spread it far and wide around the internet.

The financial lobbyists may have big money, but we have big numbers of people. And when we all chip in what we can afford, it adds up to a lot. So please make your secure donation now.

After the crash, the government bailed the banks out with half a trillion pounds. Shortly after, they started starving our public services and the wider economy of investment. This decade will be the worst for pay growth since the 1800s. [3]

Ten years on, big banks are still behaving in reckless, unfair and neglectful ways. [4] The structural problems with our money and banking system still haven’t been fixed. And many experts fear that if we don’t change things soon, we’re going to sleepwalk into another crash. [5]

Positive Money is the only people-powered civil society organisation that works to hold the Bank of England and Treasury to account. And we do it because we believe in a society that’s fairer, where homes are affordable and energy is green, and where financial crises and austerity are things of the past.

The past ten years have shown that when left to their own devices, politicians and central bankers won’t do nearly enough to create a banking sector that serves society. So it’s up to us.

Voices in the media will be talking a lot about banks around this anniversary, about the impact of the crisis on the UK, and reforms in the financial sector since 2008. So let’s make sure it’s us, not the big banks who shape the story. By chipping in today, you will help us make that happen.

Please click the button to make a secure donation now:

CHIP IN NOW



Thank you for being involved,

Rachel, Fran and the rest of the Positive Money team


Notes:
[1] https://corporateeurope.org/power-lobbies/2017/07/big-business-britain-how-corporate-lobbyists-are-dominating-meetings-trade
[2] Positive Money blog: 10 years on, enough is enough:
http://positivemoney.org/2018/07/10-years-on-and-weve-had-enough
[3] Resolution Foundation: Public and family finances squeezes extended well into the 2020s by grim Budget forecasts:
https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/media/press-releases/public-and-family-finances-squeezes-extended-well-into-the-2020s-by-grim-budget-forecasts/
[4] The Guardian:
Banks pay out £166bn over six years: a history of banking misdeeds and fines
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/12/banks-fined-200bn-six-years-history-banking-penalties-libor-forex
UK banks could face new multibillion-pound claims after PPI ruling:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/02/uk-banks-could-face-new-multibillion-pound-claims-after-ppi-ruling
MPs publish full unredacted report into RBS small business scandal:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/20/mps-publish-full-unredacted-report-into-rbs-small-business-scandal
[5] Bloomberg: 10 Years After Lehman, Four Big Risks:
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-03/lehman-collapse-10-years-later-four-major-risks
Business Insider UK: Central bankers are like ‘pyromaniac firefighters’ and they are lighting another blaze:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/daniel-lacalle-central-bankers-pyromaniac-firefighters-2018-5?r=US&IR=T
The Financial Times: John Vickers warns of ‘dangerously high’ levels of bank leverage:
https://www.ft.com/content/f4a1e84e-4df5-11e8-97e4-13afc22d86d4#myft:my-news:page






   



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