Tomorrow Saturday 13th October will mark ten years since the Government bought out RBS with £45.5 billion of taxpayers’ money. Two shocking things happened next…
RBS’s top bankers have continued to pay themselves millions of pounds in bonuses while the bank has faced multiple investigations and been mired in constant scandals. And it’s done this under public ownership. The government has had the power to stop to RBS’s misdemeanours, but has chosen not to. [1]
The public are fed up with our self-serving bank system. So this morning we delivered RBS an anniversary card hand-signed by Positive Money supporters, to make the point that a decade of inaction is long enough – and the Guardian have already written about it! [2]
As Positive Money Director Fran Boait wrote in a Guardian opinion piece yesterday, “The future of RBS can be seen as a key battleground for a public that wants to see a banking sector that actually works in their interests. ” [3]
So next we want to launch a campaign calling on the Government to stop the RBS sell-off and instead use it for the public interest.
The UK government still owns a majority stake in one of the UK’s biggest banks, so it has an opportunity to step in and reform it. Instead of closing branches, ripping off small businesses and lending for speculation and property bubbles, it could break RBS into a network of regional banks with a mission to invest in the real economy and help local communities to flourish.
We hope to get other campaign groups involved and to get going in December and January. Hazel, please will you help us build the foundations for a big public campaign by watching then sharing the video below with your friends, family and contacts on social media or email now?
Positive Money is the civil society organisation fighting for a banking system that works for people. Thank you for adding your voice.
Rachel, David, Shupikai, Simon and the rest of the Positive Money team
PS: Recently we emailed you about our campaign to stop the war on cash. It seems that Hannah Nixon and the Payment Systems Regulator are still making their decision on whether to step in and stop ATMs closing at a record rate. [4] We’ll keep you updated with any news!
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