Do we need banks?

[flobadob]

From what I see all banks do these days is store your money and use it to create money for themselves. Very little of the profits go to ordinary people, they are just shared around among this elite band of financiers. Do we need them?

[B00]

No idea, but i wish we didn't!

Hate them with a passion.

[jomifl]

Yes.. there isn't enough room to keep my money under my mattress.,

[redman41]

Probably safer than my Mattress which could catch fire at any time.
I suppose I could say that I came into a pile of money many times, but now my Cash is at the Bank........

[wildwood]

Ofcourse we need banks. Where else would the birds do their deposit!

[squarebear]

"Very little of the profits go to ordinary people"

You are confusing business with charity.

[Melissabendy]

use a mattress..

[dr b]

Banks perform the essential function of getting money from folks who have it (savers) to folks who need it (businesses, people buying houses, etc.) Shut them down for two weeks and see how the economy seizes up and your question is answered.

A better question would be, should this essential function be separated from that part of the bank (if any) that trades for its own accounts with the goal of making a profit? Perhaps, yes.

If as an "ordinary person" you want to partake in the bank's profits, buy shares in the bank. If you are covered by a private pension plan or invest in a mutual fund for your retirement, odds are you own some shares in a bank already.

[flobadob]

But what is the point of letting these banks run amok? They make billions in profits, then pay themselves millions in bonuses and keep the rest. It should not be that way.

[dr b]

"And keep the rest"? And do what with it? Any business that makes a profit either returns the profits to its shareholders (pays dividends) or reinvests it in the business, which, if done profitably, will cause the share price to rise. In either case the owners of the business (the shareholders, not the managers) benefit.

"It should not be that way." Are you advocating confiscating the profits of banks? Rolls Royce made a profit of 1 billion pounds last year. Should that be taken away too?

The root cause of the financial crisis was a system of incentives and regulations that privatized banks' gains and socialized their losses. If your main point is that these incentives and regulations need to be changed so that this does not happen again, I agree.

[DTCwordfan]

there's always the Post Offive and they have the Government insurance.

[keyplus90]

Main purpose of the bank is to deposit money and earn interest or borrow money and pay interest. So in that sense I can easily do without a bank.

[Tweed]

Well we can't really do without banks in the present system, but we could do without their power, dominance and influence over government and a major overhaul of the present system of banking. Basically the banking corporations "lend" created money and charge interest on it. Your signature on a mortgage deal for example increases the money supply & inflation goes up & when it goes up too much interest rates increase to try & cap it. The banks hold all the cards with their fractional reserve lending policies. Full story here:

http://video.google.c...=5352106773770802849#

[carlton23]

I would like to know if it`s worth keeping our savings in the banks if they aren`t paying us enough interest on our current accounts, or should we just withdraw the lot and spend it on a new car or something?

[flobadob]

carlton, the way it seems to me is at the moment is that technically you are losing money having it in a bank as they are giving little interest on savings and inflation is 3.5% in UK. So if you have £1000 in a bank now and you can buy £1000 worth of stuff, in a years time you will still only have around £1000 but the same stuff will cost you £1040.

[pugwashjw]

The only way to get a share of bank profits is to buy their stockmarket shares...and if you are poor, it is not possible.'
So the rich get richer...Most bank shares these days are around the $50 mark...
Very few can afford that...and as for a parcel of shares...again, only the rich.
(Psalm 118:8) It is better to take refuge in Jehovah Than to trust in earthling man.
(Psalm 31:6) I do hate those paying regard to worthless, vain idols; But as for me, in Jehovah I do trust.

(Jeremiah 17:5) This is what Jehovah has said: “Cursed is the able-bodied man who puts his trust in earthling man and actually makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from Jehovah himself.

[DaisyNonna]

I would prefer to keep my money under my mattress but am acutely aware of being like the princess and the pea. I need my sleep.