Interest Rate Swap Products

Debate between Geoffrey Cox and Mark Garnier

Thursday 21st June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mark Garnier]

The hon. Member—

[Mr Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon) (Con)]

Hon. Friend.

[Mark Garnier]

My hon. Friend has almost been reading my speech, because I am about to finish on that point.

There are mismatches of terms and objectives, and on this issue I have a fundamental problem with the banks. A bank manager used to be a customer’s friend, whom they could turn to for financial advice, who would look after them and who, much more importantly, had their interests at heart. The problem is that banks are now simply salesmen looking for another product to sell, and it does not quite matter to them what holistic package is being sold as long as an individual product is.

I simply do not understand why the banks are failing to get the message that they are breathtakingly unpopular. They have really made a pig’s ear of our economy and financial system, so why do they continue to do so—in the face of the public opinion? It does not make any sense, so I make this appeal to the banks: please take a look at this issue. If you have created what should be a collar and cap arrangement, but it turns out to be a cap and noose arrangement, negotiate with your customer, help them out, stop feeding solicitors lots of money and try to resolve it in order to get back to a situation where bank managers are people we can trust.