*The banks become almost as incompetent as government, as they get bigger. Perhaps that's why they become rip off merchants.*

Well Hasbeen, that is just your experience. Looking back over time,
I think that banks have become far better then they ever were. In
my case, I have a great relationship with my Westpac bank manager,
a woman who has been there for years. If I have a problem, I ring
her, its fixed. But I accept that not all bank branches are the same.

Banks used to pay no interest on liquid deposits, now with switch
accounts, the return is quite reasonable. The electonic payment
systems which the banks developed, make paying bills and all the rest,
so much easier. I hardly ever need to write and post a cheque these
days.

I lived through the days when I had to pay 18% interest, so I know
what pain is. It seems to me that what has happened is that in the
2000s, people bid up houses to unsustainable price levels, massively
overpaid and are now trying to blame banks for their misery.That
is just a case of shooting the messenger.

The banks today work on a gross spread of around 2.2%. That is a
little over half what the CBA used to work on in the 60s and 70s.
The reason why bank profits are large is because such huge sums
have been borrowed, as Australians lived it up for 20 years. Now
finally people are starting to save again, which has to be a good
thing. Fact is that most bank profits will eventually land up in
peoples super funds. But few understand the system enough to
acknowledge that

I find this laughable. See, the big men and women of this likable situation has the fundamentalism's view of a kindergarten's horrific nightmare.

Power does corrupt what we are.

Adolf Hitler

Smile