Seemingly trivial things that annoy you

Jezyboy

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

Continuing the twitter quoting theme, this sums it quite well.

https://twitter.com/griffitha/status/1684064782234558464

But it was about the 4th order reason, which reads like a throwaway comment about reputation risk, which as we can see was bang on justified?

The main tweet you can see says it. Not sure what a 4th order reason is, but then only real reputational risk Coutts and Natwest brought about was by doing what they did. And it's more than a risk now, as their reputation and share price is somewhat damaged.

As in, the 4th most salient reason for why they were binning it off.

The case went as follows in importance.

1) no longer at the threshold for the account being commercially profitable for the bank
2) Unlikely to be so in the future
3) Carries some risk associated with politicians in general, plus some such as links to Russians which have not been fully denied.
4) oh and by the way, we're trying to court a more socially responsible cleint base and people like Farage put them off.

So, because some junior wrote 4), it's all blown up. The commentators are baying for the blood of an otherwise capable CEO who seems to have steadied the RBS ship, which, let's face it, was a absolute basket case. It's a real waste.

Banks in the UK are not Swiss - they are not bound by secrecy; they are entitled to defend themselves.

That order of importance is according to who? I'm sure someone trying to deferent Coutts would claim it was that, rather conveniently.

The document in question, have you not read it?

It's not rocket science. It spells it all out. Farage keeps referring to page 10 so I went and read it, and it's one throwaway line below all the commercial reasons.

It's an "and oh, by the way", and it reads like that.


More broadly, I am really struggling with the idea that the private banking industry actually cares about customer politics or indeed their backgrounds.

Plenty of war criminals have been banked in London.

Do you actually think if you hold Farage political views you're at risk of losing your account at a bank?

The idea that any of this is convenient for Courts is laughable.

Stevo_666

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

First.Aspect said:

Now he is saying more heads should roll at NatWest.

Is there nothing else going on in the world that is newsworthy?

I dunno, a scandal that has wiped an estimated £850m off the market value of NatWest seems quite newsworthy to me.

Not content with shaving %s off UK GDP with Brexit and claiming he never made a case it wouldn't cost Britain, he's now picking off any company that is part owned by the state.

He's not very constructive is he? The nerve to play the victim. Honestly.

Like I said above, all Coutts needed to do was avoid being right on & judgmental and then writing down how nasty they thought Farage was. It's their own fault.

rick_chasey

Let's not forget, UK private banking plays a really critical role in the London Laundromat, helping London become one of the leading money laundering centres for FSU kleptocrats.

So I sincerely doubt they care about his politics as they do about how thin his wallet is.

Tashman

briantrumpet said:

Tashman said:

That everyone is giving this berk exactly what he wants in talking about him. Aaaaaggghhhh, even I'm doing it now!

One of the better bits of rhyming slang.

And yes, he knows that this will keep him in the public eye and keep his platform, which is what he craves.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Never realised the origin of that and feels entirely appropriate. I shall endeavour to use this more.

rjsterry

Stevo_666 said:

First.Aspect said:

Now he is saying more heads should roll at NatWest.

Is there nothing else going on in the world that is newsworthy?

I dunno, a scandal that has wiped an estimated £850m off the market value of NatWest seems quite newsworthy to me.

Thats a bit less than 3%. I think they'll survive.

Stevo_666

rjsterry said:

Stevo_666 said:

First.Aspect said:

Now he is saying more heads should roll at NatWest.

Is there nothing else going on in the world that is newsworthy?

I dunno, a scandal that has wiped an estimated £850m off the market value of NatWest seems quite newsworthy to me.

Thats a bit less than 3%. I think they'll survive.

I'm sure they will but their shareholders will not be pleased. And given that the government owns approx. 39% of NatWest, the actions of a few right on individuals has just cost taxpayers somewhere around £330m.

kingstongraham

Only if they sell now.

Pross

Stevo_666 said:

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

First.Aspect said:

Now he is saying more heads should roll at NatWest.

Is there nothing else going on in the world that is newsworthy?

I dunno, a scandal that has wiped an estimated £850m off the market value of NatWest seems quite newsworthy to me.

Not content with shaving %s off UK GDP with Brexit and claiming he never made a case it wouldn't cost Britain, he's now picking off any company that is part owned by the state.

He's not very constructive is he? The nerve to play the victim. Honestly.

Like I said above, all Coutts needed to do was avoid being right on & judgmental and then writing down how nasty they thought Farage was. It's their own fault.

Not really, all they needed to do was refuse to speak about an individual's account. That is ultimately what has caused them the problem. I don't think anyone was really bothered about Farage losing his account whatever the reasons. If the bank had just ignored it all Farage would have huffed and puffed then got in a bigger huff that no-one was paying him atention.

rjsterry

Stevo_666 said:

rjsterry said:

Stevo_666 said:

First.Aspect said:

Now he is saying more heads should roll at NatWest.

Is there nothing else going on in the world that is newsworthy?

I dunno, a scandal that has wiped an estimated £850m off the market value of NatWest seems quite newsworthy to me.

Thats a bit less than 3%. I think they'll survive.

I'm sure they will but their shareholders will not be pleased. And given that the government owns approx. 39% of NatWest, the actions of a few right on individuals has just cost taxpayers somewhere around £330m.

I genuinely don't know where you get this right on idea from. This is banking we're talking about. Possibly arms dealers have fewer scruples. You'd have to be thick as to think that hanging a pride flag was anything more than a token gesture.

I know you desperately want this to be about your specialist subject but it's just client confidentiality. He's still too poor to have an account there.

And it's the government's money, not taxpayers. Once it's left your account it's not yours any more.

Jezyboy

Pross said:

Stevo_666 said:

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

First.Aspect said:

Now he is saying more heads should roll at NatWest.

Is there nothing else going on in the world that is newsworthy?

I dunno, a scandal that has wiped an estimated £850m off the market value of NatWest seems quite newsworthy to me.

Not content with shaving %s off UK GDP with Brexit and claiming he never made a case it wouldn't cost Britain, he's now picking off any company that is part owned by the state.

He's not very constructive is he? The nerve to play the victim. Honestly.

Like I said above, all Coutts needed to do was avoid being right on & judgmental and then writing down how nasty they thought Farage was. It's their own fault.

Not really, all they needed to do was refuse to speak about an individual's account. That is ultimately what has caused them the problem. I don't think anyone was really bothered about Farage losing his account whatever the reasons. If the bank had just ignored it all Farage would have huffed and puffed then got in a bigger huff that no-one was paying him atention.

I can't quite remember the timeline. But I think it went along the lines of

Farage grumped, but didn't explicitly mention the bank

People on twitter did some investigation and worked out he was talking about Coutts

A silly CEO leaked bits of story.

Stevo_666

Keep the excuses coming folks

rick_chasey

Stevo_666 said:

Keep the excuses coming folks

When they'll bank Augusto Pinochet but not Farage, let me know that it is actually about politics and not how thin Farage's wallet is.

Or perhaps, mafia don Emilio Di Giovine.

Or possibly Hosni Mubarak.

pangolin

Stevo suddenly remarkably concerned about things that damage share prices, fantastic

Stevo_666

pangolin said:

Stevo suddenly remarkably concerned about things that damage share prices, fantastic

You'll have to explain that one, you've lost me there?

Stevo_666

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

Keep the excuses coming folks

When they'll bank Augusto Pinochet but not Farage, let me know that it is actually about politics and not how thin Farage's wallet is.

Or perhaps, mafia don Emilio Di Giovine.

Or possibly Hosni Mubarak.

I'm guessing those banking relationships predated the woke movement,

secretsqirrel

What’s the woke movement?

Stevo_666

secretsqirrel said:

What’s the woke movement?

Getting back on topic, people asking questions that they know the answer to or are easily googled.

Good try

Stevo_666

secretsqirrel

Stevo_666 said:

secretsqirrel said:

What’s the woke movement?

Getting back on topic, people asking questions that they know the answer to or are easily googled.

Good try

shrug…..just thought you would know.

rick_chasey

Stevo_666 said:

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

Keep the excuses coming folks

When they'll bank Augusto Pinochet but not Farage, let me know that it is actually about politics and not how thin Farage's wallet is.

Or perhaps, mafia don Emilio Di Giovine.

Or possibly Hosni Mubarak.

I'm guessing those banking relationships predated the woke movement,

Yeah I mean, who'd have thought of not banking mafia dons convicted of money laundering, a dictator who had a reputation for money laundering, tax evasion and murdering and torturing political opponents, or another dictator who is described as leaving a "legacy of mass torture" before the woke movement?

Stevo_666

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

rick_chasey said:

Stevo_666 said:

Keep the excuses coming folks

When they'll bank Augusto Pinochet but not Farage, let me know that it is actually about politics and not how thin Farage's wallet is.

Or perhaps, mafia don Emilio Di Giovine.

Or possibly Hosni Mubarak.

I'm guessing those banking relationships predated the woke movement,

Yeah I mean, who'd have thought of not banking mafia dons convicted of money laundering, a dictator who had a reputation for money laundering, tax evasion and murdering and torturing political opponents, or another dictator who is described as leaving a "legacy of mass torture" before the woke movement?

Who knows. Maybe they should publish their internal reports on those individuals. After all, dead men can't sue.

Either way, they've ****ed up in a large and public way this time.

kingstongraham

I think they were probably right when they said he is high profile and likes to court controversy.

pangolin

Still find the "too poor" rationale a bit odd. Coutts had, and I'm sure still has, bucket loads of clients who don't meet the wealth requirements. They just have to pay quarterly fees that most of us would wince at as a result.

Perhaps business accounts are different and that's the issue for Farage but if that's the case that is not how it is generally being reported/discussed.

pblakeney

pangolin said:

Still find the "too poor" rationale a bit odd. Coutts had, and I'm sure still has, bucket loads of clients who don't meet the wealth requirements. They just have to pay quarterly fees that most of us would wince at as a result.
...

It was a lack of cash and an even bigger lack of discretion.
The ironic part is Coutts lack of discretion with the follow up. A sorry tale all round.

Stevo_666

Stevo_666 said:

pangolin said:

Stevo suddenly remarkably concerned about things that damage share prices, fantastic

You'll have to explain that one, you've lost me there?

First it was bottling out of debating, now you're bottling out of explaining what you're on about. What's next?

Pross

My phone regularly correcting a correct word with an incorrect version of the same letters but with an apostrophe e.g. changing were to we’re and ill to I’ll making me look even more stupid than I am.

Pross

Could be worse though, Stevo’s post above has gone wrong making it look like he’s arguing with himself!

briantrumpet

Pross said:

Could be worse though, Stevo’s post above has gone wrong making it look like he’s arguing with himself!

Maybe his alter ego is Pangolin - have you ever seen them in a room together?

First.Aspect

Pross said:

My phone regularly correcting a correct word with an incorrect version of the same letters but with an apostrophe e.g. changing were to we’re and ill to I’ll making me look even more stupid than I am.

Samsung keyboard?

briantrumpet

I'm not sure whether it annoyed me or pleased me that the weather was rubbish today, so a no-cycling-before-journey-to-France day. I guess I got the house in some sort of order, and the body had a rest before the 14-hour cycle, bus, plane, train, train, walk journey tomorrow. And at least it shouldn't be tiddling down tomorrow.

Still, a little sunny bike ride would have been nice...