Finance is difficult....................??

[NOT 2 L8]

Saw this on Business spectator this morning.

NEWS

11:45 AM, 1 Feb 2009


Banks use high-pressure tactics: report

AAP

Banks have been accused of using high-pressure sales tactics to maintain profits.

The Sun-Herald newspaper says up to 170 bank workers each month are filing complaints about being unreasonably forced to push home loans or credit cards on customers, who are now more cautious after an era of easy credit and high debt.

In September the Financial Services Union received 149 complaints, which increased to 170 by October. The worst was the Commonwealth Bank, accounting for 44 per cent of complaints, while Westpac had 14.3 per cent, the ANZ 9.4 per cent and the National Australia Bank 7.6 per cent.

The union's NSW secretary Geoff Derrick said it was unreasonable for banks to ask staff to maintain profit margins as the economy slows.

WTF.

Cheers

Chrisv.

 

[Propertunity]

The union's NSW secretary Geoff Derrick said it was unreasonable for banks to ask staff to maintain profit margins as the economy slows.

Interesting, I wonder if all business adopted the same approach what would happen? firstly to the business and then ultimately to the number of employees it could carry?

 

[boomtown]

Its a business like any other.

Sales staff are expected to pound the pavement. Big deal.

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hiya

Interesting, but doesnt surprise me.

Some of the stuff that happens at branches so a new "draw down " can be generated for this weeks budget are plain stoopid and scary.

Goes to prove the addage of "what gets measured gets done".

ta
rolf

 

[THEHEATH]

Everytime without fail when I have to go to a teller at the Commonwealth they ask me, "Are you happy with your credit limit sir, there is an offer there to extend the limit".

 

[mja]

Everytime without fail when I have to go to a teller at the Commonwealth they ask me, "Are you happy with your credit limit sir, there is an offer there to extend the limit".

Same here... but it's usually about life insurance.

 

[equity]

Certainly nothing new, when I was a lending manager with one of the big banks, the branch manager and I would run a meeting each morning before opening time with the counter staff to run through the referral targets. The targets were very rarely met, but I think that was the idea.

You know what though, all those hard fought for home loan referrals generally came to nothing anyway, because the customers only agreed because they'd been pestered to the point of giving in just so they could leave the branch!

It works all the way through the bank though, because our managers were putting the same pressure on us, and their managers on them and so on...

Back to the original post, the banks are pretty tight with the cash at the moment, but from what I'm hearing they're a lot happier to lend to existing customers, which is where the branch referrals would come in.

 

[jaycee]

Same here... but it's usually about life insurance.

I had to agree to a building insurance quote to get out of the bank lst time I went in for something !

 

[buzzlightyear]

Banks now upsell as well as Maccas! Insurances, credit cards, superannuation.....

 

[wylie]

For a while there I was getting calls in the day time from a foreign accented person from Westpac asking for my husband. They would never tell me what they wanted him for, so I was polite, just in case they wanted to give us something or we had made a mistake and would have to beg foregiveness and rectify it.

After a while I got sick of the calls and because they would not even hint at what they wanted my husband for, I just used to say "he will be home after 7" or pick any other time.

They have obviously given up on us. Loans are mostly in hubby's name but I am guarantor for over $1M in loans, so if they cannot let me in on the "secret" they can go jump.

I do know (because in exasperation I asked the caller) that they are trying to sell us insurance.

 

[Aaron Sice]

CBA sent me - after grilling me for missing one (that's right, one) CC payment and nearly bringing my home finance crashing around my ears at lockup - a letter asking if i'd like my CC limit increased by 25%.

needless to say, i sent them back all their junk mail, plus a few (a lot of!) others in their kindly attached, prepaid, self addressed envelope.