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A few thoughts... (26/11/2009 10:38:34)
A few things come out of this for me:
1) The challenge has put a spotlight on the fact that many people struggle to stay in the black each month and the importance of developing money management skills - part of this (stress, only part, not the whole picture) is about raising levels of financial capability and making sure people are properly equipped to make the best decisions with their money - although this in itself is not the whole solution (the best money management skills in the world may not secure you against some large financial shocks e.g. losing a job).
2) One interesting offshoot discussion around this involved whether banks should charge fees for owning an account instead of charges for going overdrawn. There are some big arguments here both for (e.g. get rid of a system whereby a few - often those on lower-income - are subsidising accounts for many) and against (e.g. bank accounts are arguably as important today as any utility and so provision should not be charged for). I think that the process of having these discussions we're lead to wider thoughts about the role of banks in society - which leads me to my final thought...
3) I think the whole process of challenging these charges to date (and the challenge may still continue by other means) has actually been important in itself. Rather than just accepting that things are the way they are, it's got people discussing what they think is an appropriate way for banks to conduct business. Combined with wider fallout from the 'banking crisis', perhaps this might inform and influence ongoing discussions between rethinking of the relationship between the financial industry and society.
Quite a long post, but would be interested to hear if anyone has any thougts on the above...
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