*This is particularly pertinent when there is lack of compeitition, price fixing and other monopolistic behaviours either obvious or more insidious; and the lack of appropriate government regulation or oversight.*

Pelican, that is exactly why we have laws against these things.
If we don't, it is the fault of poor govt, not business.

*Yabby, working on a slim margin or a larger margin is relevant only to turnover figures and a 22 billion dollar profit is still a 22 billion dollar profit*

So it is and people are running around like headless choocks, abusing
their bank tellers, because politicians and the media are stirring
them up, for their own personal gain. But lets look at the
underlying facts.

Banking is a huge business in Australia, as Aussies love to borrow.
So the total assets employed/risked are 2.2 trillion$. 22 billion
is 1% of that, hardly spectacular.

We also know from the figures published, that bank margins in retail
banking have in fact dropped, cost of funds is increasing,
less write offs are a big share of the increased figures,
that there was a flight to quality (to the big 4) during the
GFC as people panicked and overseas banks, as well as various
home loan lenders, pulled the plug. Banks like NAB have cut alot
of bank fees, saving consumers around 900 million.

Basel 3 is now forcing banks to have more longer term funding,
that will cost them extra. For depositors won't commit to those
longer terms, without compensation for risk.

The list goes on and I won't bore you as I know you are not
interested. All you see is 22 billion and your mind is already
made up.

Well Yabby the opposite equally applies. All you see is 'blaming profits' and are unwilling to look at the big picture. It is not just about banking but a skewed economic system.

The list goes on but I won't bore you as your mind is already made up within the Economics 101 Manual of indoctrination.

See it is too easy to make personal comments and judgements about people we don't really know, but it is arguments that count.

PS: That probably came across as a bit harsh. I am sure if we had met in a pub over a drink we would have more in common than not. :)

*All you see is 'blaming profits' and are unwilling to look at the big picture. It is not just about banking but a skewed economic system.*

Pelican, you are the one, claiming that our economic system is
skewed, not me. I think its quite balanced actually. We are
unlike America, unlike Venezuela or Cuba, but somewhere in the
midde.

We have swung to market economics, because we had to and it gave
us results. OTOH we also have Govt regulation and a huge social
welfare system, bankrolled by that thriving economic system.

Privatising Telstra, CSL, CBA, Qantas, has benefitted all of us,
through more competition and lower prices. You have yet to show
and argument that this is not so.

OTOH we have Govt schools and private schools, Govt hospitals and
private hospitals, Australia Post and private couriers. There is
nothing wrong with that, for Govt services improve when they too
can be benchmarked and need to be competitive.

It all comes back to the same thing, human nature. People in general
will become complacent, fat and lazy, feathering their own nests,
given half a chance. Some form of competition keeps them at least
a little bit awake and gives them a reason to look over their shoulders and perform at least a little.

The more the competition, the wider awake they are, for their
self interest is threatened. That is just human nature for you.

But Yabby you are the one advocating the feathering of nests by the fat and wealthy overriding any other responsibility.

I am not advocating getting something for nothing only that the mechanisms should ideally ensure the system is not distorted so much as to only advantage (by opportunity or flawed ideas about value of labour vs property) one group heavily over the other.

How has the privatisation of Qantas beneffited us when their good safety record has already been affected by offshore maintenance and lack of governance. Has Telstra's service improved - a resounding No. Are banks more competitive since the CBA was privatised?

C'mon Yabby think about it.

*But Yabby you are the one advocating the feathering of nests by the fat and wealthy overriding any other responsibility.*

I certainly am not. I am simply realistic about the basics of
human nature as I see it everywhere. The only way to solve that
is to create some kind of competitive environment, or people get
screwed. By Govt or by business.

*How has the privatisation of Qantas beneffited us when their good safety record has already been affected by offshore maintenance and lack of governance*

So which plane crashed due to lack of maintenance? It used to
cost around 1400$ return from Perth to Sydney. It now costs 400$.

*Has Telstra's service improved - a resounding No*

It used to cost me 2$ a minute to ring Europe, now its a tiny fraction
of that. It used to cost me 9$ an hour for the internet, now
its 49$ a month. Fact is telecommunications costs have dropped
dramatically, due to competition.

*Are banks more competitive since the CBA was privatised?*

CBA used to work on a 4% spread, today they work on a 2.2% spread.
Banks laughed at me when I used to tell them that they should pay
interest on at call money. They said it would never happen. Today
they pay between 4.5-6%, due to competition. The list goes on.

Don't worry, I have thought about it lots and yes I'm sure we would
get on fine at the pub :)

.