15 Long Years- BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH HAS CHANGED!

When my company installed the very first Independent ATM in the UK in 1998, I was confident that the years to come would be filled with exciting improvements and innovation in the financial services sector.

How wrong I was!

The UK Financial Services sector as a whole is one where marketing hype has far exceeded actual achievements.

Why is this?

The reasons are not hard to find:

- lack of competition. The US has a population only around 5 times the size of the UK,
  yet at a conservative estimate has around 250 times more banks than our country. The
  small number of UK banks allows those organisations to effectively control every strand
  of the financial services sector.

- lack of robust self-regulation. Attempts made have been aimed at papering over the
  cracks rather than developing and implementing long-term solutions in the Public
  Interest.

- lack of effective external regulation. The regulators have palpably failed to safeguard the
  interests of the UK public and the UK economy.

This cannot go on.

Root and branch reform of UK financial services is required - and without any further delay.

Organisations that seek to delay or obstruct change must be swept away.

There are a number of reviews of the structure and governance of UK financial services in progress but they have very little time remaining to get their work done.

The future of the whole British economy - indeed, the fate of British society - is at stake.

15 years is too long to wait for change.

Now is the time for ACTION!
 

Thursday, 1st November 2012

Back to top ↑