Are Banks The Modern Day Pirates?

[VHG]

I see Barclays have announced that nine staff have received £39 million in shares between them.

I dont pretend to understand the banking system, but how do they make so much money that they can give such huge bonuses?

Are they buying and selling things they neither want nor need, just to drive the price up, and make a profit.

If that is the case surely that is stealing from us all - we then have to pay more for everything we buy purely because Barclays (and other banks) have "creamed" off a load of profit and driven the price up.

However they make their money, surely we are all paying for it because the money must come from somwehere?

So are they modern day pirates, sailing the "sea of finance" and "stealing" wherever they can, from whoever they can.

[chrisgel]

Yes they are to put it bluntly.

[emmie]

some certainly are, mind you i would like to hear some one say yo ho ho and a bottle of rum before making my mind up.

[LazyGun]

This is South Parks take on banks and savers.Many would conclude that banks have been pirates for quite some time! ;)

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/222624/the-importance-of-saving-money

[DC_FC]

On what you posted VHG Id say yes they are. Bonuses should be given a limit, its an obscene amount to pay out as bonuses.

[Sqad]

Banks are not philanthropic societies, never were and never will be.

Just go into some of the London Banks and see the luxurious buildings and facilities. When i was at Uni, one played at the sports grounds of the major banks and they were luxurious....all mod cons.

I put money into bank shares and say "What is in it for me?"
Dividends and the chance to make some money over a period of time.

Seems normal behavior to me....

[Gromit]

Hiding the embarrassingly large payouts on Budget Day is naughty too

http://news.sky.com/story/1067262/exclusive-barclays-risks-new-bonuses-row

[Gromit]

// (Reuters) - Rich Ricci, the head of Barclays' investment bank, has sold shares worth more than 17 million pounds ($25.7 million) straight after receiving them as part of previous deferred bonuses or long-term awards.

Barclays said on Wednesday Ricci was awarded 5.7 million shares on Monday and had sold them all when the shares were priced at 308.1 pence, valuing the stake at 17.6 million pounds. Barclays shares have fallen through this week and closed on Wednesday at 295.2p.

Ricci's pay does not have to be disclosed as he is not on the board, but he has long been one of the highest paid people at Barclays. He was paid 10.6 million pounds and awarded shares worth another 17.3 million pounds for 2010 alone. //

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/barclays-awards-ricci-idUKL6N0CCGFY20130320

Oh dear, did he have to be called Rich Ricci?

[VHG]

>>>>Seems normal behavior to me....

I have no objection to banks looking after our money, investing it, and making a profit on that investment.

What I am against is, for example, a bank buying up the worlds supply of say wheat (something they neither want nor need), driving up the price, then selling it later at a huge profit.

The extra cost of buying wheat then means that, say, every loaf of bread sold costs 20p more than it would have been if the bank had never bought the wheat.

This then costs us all 20p more a loaf and so the bank have, in effect, stolen 20p of everyone who ever buys a loaf of bread.

p.s. I use this as an example, I have no idea if if can or does happen, but just trying to show how the banks "greed" can affect everyone on the planet.

[VHG]

>>>I put money into bank shares and say "What is in it for me?"

A bit like how Elizabeth the first funded people like Francis Drake to go and discover new lands, but in the end he just robbed and plundered Spanish ships that were full of gold and other wealth.

She was not bothered HOW he got the money, as she got a decent return in her investment.

[Bazile]

//I have no objection to banks looking after our money, investing it, and making a profit on that investment. //

But isn't that exactly what they are doing ?

[youngmafbog]

VHG, I can see where you are coming from but if you are so incenced why not spend some time understanding what they do?

Lets not forget Banks are usually investing other peoples money(if you have a pension probably yours!). They then make from a cut of profit and that is then divi up for bonuses etc.

I am pretty certain that Barclays could not afford to influence the market in such a way as you suggest, and even if they could, say with shares, with today's regulation they would be hauled up on it. (Unless you are a certain ex Daily Mirror person of course)

The amount of bonus does sometimes seem very difficult to justify. The problem is, if you start interfering with a free market economy where does it stop? Should we for instance cap footballers or entrepreneurs?

[pdq1]

The problem is they have got these huge bonuses on the back of QE which filled up their balance sheets. QE has come at a cost by depleting OAPs of a reasonable return on their savings amd many savers are having to use their capital rather than the interest earned, So you could say the OAPs are paying for their huges bonuses.