In order that the sacred aim of equitable distribution of wealth is made a movement, to start with, the banks and other financial institutions must be transformed into investments and funds management institutions so that the rich may have access to the money of the depositors only as equity/share money and not as loans.
Except for short-term ranging between 30 to 90 days for meeting emergencies/contingencies or of personal nature only to individuals, in order to let the whole of humanity enjoy the fruits of progress, productivity and prosperity while a general consensus is promoted for the well-being of our industrial and commercial entities.
All banks and other financial institutions must, by law, be owned and managed by depositors and other investors allowing them to own a maximum of 1% shares individually so that all financial hegemony, exploitation and undue profiteering comes to an end and any and all benefits are eventually returned to the actual source of funds ie the depositors and public at large with every one and any one to be eligible to buy/own shares.
Profit should be a means to sustainability and growth; it must never be allowed to become the goal and the sole driving force. The goal should be to serve with an element of commercial viability so as to continually generate reasonable earnings.
Tried and tested successful professionals may be given the task of management supervised by the well-known audit firms and a board of directors consisting of large deposit holders.
CREDIT CARD SCAM Enough is enough... how come new card bills are carrying a 5 percent excise duty on card charges. You need to look into the abnormally high and cruelly designed schedule of charges on credit cards in the interest of the public at large. Looks like all are one-sided favouring the banks, it is like biting the hands those that feed. The banks are deducting between 2.5-3.0 % from vendors though they allow them no benefit for late reimbursements. Some vendors pass that burden on to the consumers such as travel agencies etc.
THE BANKS ARE DEBITING CARDHOLDERS Approximately 36 percent per annum on cash withdrawals plus one-time withdrawal charges of 2 to 3 percent or more with a minimum of Rs 300 to 600. 2.33-3.25 percent pm on cards outstanding plus late payment charges if not settled on time thereby punishing the already troubled card holders twice for not being able to afford full and timely payment. Yet they must also burden the cardholder with over limit charges of 1,000 or so.
On top of that Rs 300-600 for late payment if cheques delivered to their drop boxes prior to due dates of payments but not encashed by banks due to holidays. The most intriguing part is the charge of Rs 1, 000 if you go over the limit where you are not the solicitor.
You do not know that you have gone over limit plus you pay the usual mark-up on top of that. How can a multiple family cardholders keep track of the credit limits?
Whereas the banks or the vendors fail to inform the cardholders when they are going over the limit without any regard to the fact that supplementary cards used by family members do not allow the cardholders with up-to-date knowledge about the card usage all the time.
Rs 500 if the cheque needs to be represented just for simple mistakes in writing cheques or due to delay in clearing of effects/cheques deposited by the cardholders in their bank accounts. Besides Rs 2,000-4,000 annual fee. It is a case of gross social injustice and beyond. When cash is paid in settlement of card dues, banks charge cash processing fee of Rs 200 to 300 and when paid by cheques the rascals take 3 to 4 days to give credit.
One very seriously unfair practice which needs to be severely reprimanded is the personal loan issue of these poor credit card holders where these banks charge mark-up on principal amount without any adjustment of instalments collected month after month whereby the loan outstanding is diminished but not taken into account for the purpose of mark-up calculation and on top of that customers are not paid full loan amount but only the amount after deducting first month instalment and when the banks say it is 1.5 percent pm actually it is over 30 percent annually. Yet these swindlers dare to charge another 5 to 10 percent surcharges if such loans are settled fully prior to their full term.
Banking institution should be rid of these unethical management's who do not understand their responsibility towards customers. Is it not a financial terrorism? Allowing and encouraging the foreign financial institutions to plunder this economically exploited nation through bad banking regulations/legislation.
One thing which is even more serious is that the cards are being processed and issued through tele-marketing, low calibre people (commission-based agents) with minimum of paper work and without scrutiny about the creditworthiness and ability of the individuals for settlement of the dues, giving way to all sorts of irregularities.
The customer services people at these banks only have stereo-typed answers and no solutions when contacted. The banking institution is being socially important in its basic nature but like most other areas of welfare has been corrupted by those who were expected to rather improve upon, this institution of vital importance has also been hijacked by lesser vision, selfish and greedy few.
May I take this opportunity to remind you about our national priorities to use the funds available on infrastructure and industrial development, promotion of educational facilities, logistic support, housing, environment, creation of work opportunities for the jobless and good governance rather than spending on consumer electronics, households and whatever. I have set the ball rolling, but there are those who ought to act.