It’s the work of sheepish officials who have failed to hold these companies to account, scrambling to make amends in the face of mounting public outrage.
Number 11’s mortgage charter is voluntary and therefore appears to be mostly unenforceable. Harsh words from MPs and the Governor of the Bank of England are no more than that.
The FCA is unlikely to deliver meaningful change, and in fact has admitted that there is little it can do – they can’t set rates. Besides, there’s a competitive market already.
The big banks are simply taking advantage of customer apathy, as they have always done, only now it’s more glaring.
There are probably only two things that could force change.
One is a windfall tax on the banks, which could yet come. Having nobbled Shell, BP and other North Sea oil producers, it is not unthinkable that high street lenders could be next in the Chancellor’s firing line.
There would probably be strong public support for such a move, particularly given that polls show that perceptions of profiteering are widespread, and there’s a general election around the corner so it certainly cannot be ruled out from a weak government looking for easy vote-winners.
The other is that customers take action into their own hands. The problem is that the average bank account holder is inherently complacent.
