As a follow on to the non violent action of encouraging others to switch their business and personal accounts to ethical banks, as ever, the challenge is to go mainstream to get some proper attension.
How?
Harness the power of amusing e-mails swapped between friends (I often get good ones several times from different sources such is the power to spread information this way).
Add in a dash of message of what you can do in protest.
Tell people what to do and how easy it is including alist of ethically run banks
Convince ethical banks to donate 50p to red nose day for every account that is open that refers to the circular e-mail and is credited with at least £500 (say).
Click send to ‘everyone I know’ with amessage to ‘forward on to everyone you know’ and see what happens…..
Now all we need is someone with a sense of humour and tech know how to research some archive photos of the chief offenders, add a red nose and a frizzy red commedy wig to the photos amnd some acurate public domain commentary to each (all for charity of course).
Make it funny, make it compelling, make it easy, make it the electronic equivalent of throwing rotton fruit at bankers in the village stocks.
Anyone fancy having ago at that?
PLEASE.
Red nose day is next Friday I think.
Jericoa
JB : or “Be kind to a banker day“?
. or will things like this be the way things go from now on?
Contact your local elected officials - for free
by Jericoa
28 Feb 2009 at 12:18
Rough go at an e-mail format below if someone can fill in the blanks.
1)Present interactive photos of chief execs wearing comedy frizzy wigs and red noses, along with their titles and commentary on the ‘amusing’ things thay have done …. ‘this guy thought 125% mortgages were a good idea…etc. This guy bought ABN Amro…etc etc
2) Want to make a difference? Then swap to an ethically run bank dont fund these jokers pensions and bonuses.
3) Here are a list of ethically run banks, dont take our word for it, check it out yourself.
4) All you have to do is
Open an account (usually just 1 form)
Change your details with your employer ( again just 1 form)
Change your direct debits and standing orders ( can almost all be done on line)
It took me about 1.5 hours and 4 phone calls to make sure that I will not be directly contributing to these jokers bonuses and pensions.
The originator of the e-mail (lobbygroup.org) is trying to negotiate a charitable donation to red nose day from the ethical banks to anyone who changes an account to them. We will not make any mioney ourselves from this, that is not the purpose. The purpose is to send amessage that the knights of the realms in the boards of the banks should not be rewarded for failure and should not be allowed to hide behind legal clauses to keep their ill gotton gains.
The donations code will be ‘lobbygroup red nose initiative’
No doubt someone will now tell me 101 legal reasons why we can not do this!!!
Jericoa
by John Bray
28 Feb 2009 at 12:53
Jericoa, just a minor niggle but one that I think could be easily overcome.
“…(lobbygroup.org) is trying to negotiate …” could be problematic because my understanding is that only a “legal-entity” can negotiate anything (ie: – other than a person – a company, partnership, organisation or whatever).
A.C. has lots of these things – maybe he could help?
by romeplebian
28 Feb 2009 at 16:35
sounds good to me, who are all the ethically run banks?
by Jericoa
01 Mar 2009 at 03:12
I will be out most of today, if anyone can assist to take this further feel free!
by helen heywood
02 Mar 2009 at 10:15
Try Triodos ethical banking + co op of course!
by Alexander Curzon
02 Mar 2009 at 12:25
RE NEW BANK?
WEVE DONE THE FULL HIT THE PROBLEM IS THE FSA LEVY FOR THE BAILOUT OF INSOLVENT INSTITUTIONS.
IT WOULD BE BEST TO BE A PLC {NOT LISTED} START
AS A DEPOSIT TAKER RUNNING BASIC CURRENT ACCOUNTS
WITH DEBIT CARDS.
SO NO LENDING OR MONEY MARKET TRADES ETC. . .
I feel it could be done need about 20,000 customers paying 15 pounds per month to be in with a chance approx 5 million quid to kick it off.
Plus some ex bank secure premises.
Regretfully the new bank would still need to partner with a current player? Cooperative??
by John Bray
02 Mar 2009 at 12:33
Alex, So are you thinking of starting one? I thought Weatherspoons had all the ex-bank premises though. Mind you there will shortly be so many on the market that even they couldn’t borrow enough money to buy them all up.
by Jericoa
02 Mar 2009 at 15:39
Alexander, congratulations you have your first customer.
Me. account No. 000000001 please
Only 19,999 to go, peanuts if you harness the power of the net combined with popular culture and the emerging popular spirit of the times.
Ride the wave of emerging understanding in the broader population of what has happened. Be there at the beginning, harness it, make it your own, make it into something good.
The floor is yours.
I have plenty of ideas but need a dragon.
Are you a Dragon Alexander?
by John Bray
03 Mar 2009 at 05:34
Jericoa, maybe even a fire-breathing one:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/alexander/curzon
by Jericoa
03 Mar 2009 at 13:00
I hope so
by Alexander Curzon
04 Mar 2009 at 12:49
Im only a DRAGON when i get TOTALLY PISSED OFF
I am in DRAGON MODE AT THE MOMENT!!
Dishonest estate AGENTS again!!
Re the New Bank we still are looking at doing IT!
by John Bray
04 Mar 2009 at 13:30
I think we should.
by Jericoa
05 Mar 2009 at 06:01
Just tell me where to send my cash and the details and we can start a compelling e-mail chain going, make sure you have sufficient infrastructure in place to handle the deluge though once we set the rabbit running.
Jericoa