Banks and people
The trust between banks and people have hit an all time low Reuters

"Does anyone really know where their money goes when they deposit money into a bank?" says Malcolm Hayday, chief executive of Charity Bank.

Hayday has been at Charity Bank just shy of decade, working with and investing in social and community organisations. He has a vested interest in how banks go about their business in using, what he sees, as "our money" that goes towards making billions of pounds for a selected few.

The Vickers Report suggested that banks should ring-fence its retail and investment arms so consumers are protected from risky assets. Failure to do that contributed towards the banking collapse of 2008, argue critics.

Local bank deposits are used to buy assets all over the world from Africa to Asia, says Hayday.

As a result, he says, there is a "disconnection between banks and the general public" with the relationship between the two hitting an all-time low. Add this to the huge salaries and bonuses that some executives still receive and the person in the street is now furious with the way a select few have meddled so deeply in everyone's living standards.

How Can This be Healed?

"There needs to be a link on the home pages of these major banks about projects they have funded which will allow banks back into the community," he says.

"I can remember the day when your bank manger used to take your dog walking while you were doing your business in a bank, but it's not like that any more."

Long-term, Hayday says that banks need to become "utilities" again for deposits and withdrawals of cash.

"Banks used to be a service like the Post Office that kept your money safe but now banks are seen to penalise society," he says.

Vickers: Will it Work?

Already there are severe doubts that Vickers' recommendations will be implemented in time to avert another financial disaster. According to a report in the Financial Times, politicians may be waiting until 2019 to get all the regulations approved.

Hayday adds: "It does not require banks to become fully transparent. Information about where and how money is invested is still not available to customers; as a result they are unable to hold their bankers to account. The Vickers report contains no recommendations for tackling this issue.

"Although we believe that ring-fencing of retail deposits is a positive step, a complete separation of the different functions of banking is required if depositors are to be protected from the different risks contained in investment banking."