Mike Fotis

The European Commission likes playing hard ball. Back in 2009 it decided that a bloated RBS had to sell off its Williams & Glyn unit to meet European Union state aid demands. But after a seven-year hunt for a buyer, RBS abandoned the sale and instead proposed a £775 million fund to help strengthen its competitors. But as it prepares to hand out cash to its rivals next month, RBS is charting a course that could see it sweep the rug from under their feet. While the likes of Monzo, Starling Bank, Revolut, and German-based N26 are fighting hard for personal current accounts, the race for business banking is only just getting started, with firms like Tide, Coconut, and the soon to be launched Allica all hoping to attract a piece of the pie.

There’s something really safe and reassuring about the saying ‘same old, same old’. And while we may live in volatile times, there’s no end in sight for our love of buying, or, in the case of most young Londoners, attempting to buy, property. A man’s home is quite clearly his castle, and mortgage brokers have long been a central part of our house-buying experience, with over 70% of all mortgages now sold through brokers. And although digital mortgage brokers like Habito and Mojo are shaking up the market, brokers are set to be a key part of the market for some time. But what really drives your mortgage broker? Is it whether you’re getting the best deal and quickest turnaround, or whether they’re getting the highest fees?

After an eerily quiet year, payday loans are back in the headlines. The speedy demise of Wonga has sent shockwaves through the industry, and rumours of which firms may be next are spreading like wildfire. So what brought the great bogeyman of the payday loans industry, which at one point boasted a fifty per cent market share, to its knees? Was it the years of media scrutiny, tougher regulation, or the rise of Credit Unions? It’s rather ironic that the once mighty Wonga has been brought down by the ambulance chasers of the finance world, claims management firms. While other lenders may not want to admit it, they’ve all seen an uptick in legacy affordability claims.

Barely a month goes by without a new banking firm popping up. And while some are interesting, and a few perhaps revolutionary, most have simply rolled out mortgage and savings products in an attempt to muscle in on the home turf of the UK’s building societies. Add to the mix a fast deteriorating High Street environment, and there’s little doubt that building societies are starting to feel the squeeze. But far from being cowed, the mutual sector is gearing up to take on the new kids on the block, in a battle that cuts to the heart of what our society in 2018 really stands for.

It’s no secret that insurance premiums are rising. It’s also no secret that some insurance firms drive customers around the bend by trying to avoid paying claims. Too many won’t offer their best renewal price to existing customers, unless they’re prepared to call up and haggle. Oh, and then there are those sneaky admin fees to contend with as well. Add it all together, and it’s really no surprise that insurers are less trusted than estate agents, a profession that's in no danger of being mistaken for a bastion of trustworthiness. But while the industry as a whole has a long road ahead if it’s to tackle the trust deficit, I believe that now is the time for insurance brokers to seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Scams are nothing new. From the Nigerian Prince who needs our help transferring money to the glut of fake goods sold as genuine articles, scams are here to stay. But forget the cheap Louis Vuitton knock-offs – the new battleground is UK savers. UK savers are perfect targets. They have money readily available (at times tens of thousands of pounds) and are desperate to beat the paltry 1% that most big banks are touting. Over the last few years, savers chasing the best available rates have also become used to a lot of new names popping up in best buy tables. These new savings-focused banks include Charter Savings Bank and even Al Rayan Bank, neither of which are household names. Combined, these factors have helped to make savers deeply vulnerable targets.

It won’t shock you to read that bank branches are closing. They’re expensive to run, and fewer customers are using them. In fact just 11% of the UK population now prefers visiting a branch to carry out their banking business. But behind these simple facts is a rather grim reality. In the next few years, many consumers will count themselves lucky to live near an old post office branch moonlighting as the last bank standing. This is pretty worrying stuff. And how we’ve got to this point has a dash of Bell Pottinger wizardry about it. It’s so bizarre that I’ve been forced to scavenge the depths of the English language to find a word to describe it, and have had to borrow a phrase from 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Using fear to sell products is a powerful strategy. Unsurprisingly, many financial firms have come to rely on fear to fatten their bottom lines. But in 2017, there’s only one word to describe fear-based marketing: desperate. Firms selling pensions, investments, and financial products aimed at the over-50s, such as funeral plans, have traditionally been the worst offenders. The insurance industry also knows a thing or two about using fear to sell. After all, with the exception of a mandated product like car insurance, the raw motivation for buying insurance products is largely fear. None of us plan to drop our iPhones, and yet we buy gadget insurance, just in case. But even the masters of fear-based selling are dialling it down a notch.

There’s never been a better time to borrow money. Mortgages pegged at 1.29 per cent, 2.7 per cent personal loans, and 29-month interest free balance transfer cards are no longer the stuff of our credit-filled dreams. But the cost of short-term loans has remained stubbornly high. We’re in the midst of a cheap credit bonanza, and yet the poorest and most marginalised continue to pay the most – a challenge that the industry seems unable to tackle. Often dubbed alternative or fringe lending, in 21st century Britain the fringe has become really pretty big. A 2016 Money Advice Service study found that more than 16 million people had less than £100 in savings. In my region, the North East of England, 50.7 per cent of adults have less than £100 in savings.

Yesterday the UK financial regulator released complaints data for the second half of 2016. While this happens every six months, yesterday was meant to be different. This data was meant to arm consumers with information to make more informed decisions, and ultimately empower people to make the financial world better. Sadly, it turned out to be a lost opportunity. So what did change? As a result of Policy Statement 19/15, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released more information than ever before. From 30 June 2016 all complaints handled by a regulated firm became reportable (previously it was just complaints dealt with by the close of the next working day).

Let’s face it, us Brits have a dirty habit. We’re obsessed with property. We own much more of it than our European cousins, and many of us have come to see owning a nice home as not just a sign of a successful life, but intrinsically linked to our self-worth. Thanks to TV shows like the BBC’s long running Homes Under The Hammer, we’ve also become convinced that owning property is a license to print money. It’s this belief that has filtered through every part of the property industry, and led to some pretty predatory behaviour. In February a Which? study found that home-sellers were losing an average of £20,000 because 'greedy' estate agents were overvaluing their properties.

When asked recently by a waiter if I was enjoying my pizza, I replied: 'It’s great, thanks.' But I was lying. It tasted no better than a £2 supermarket pizza, and I was further put off by a rather persistent fly hovering above the table. While we’re all good at moaning - a reassuringly British sign as we head further down Brexit Road, and Donald Trump becomes the most powerful man in the world - we’re dreadful at doing it publicly or in a way that actually makes a difference. But for the good of the financial services industry (and Newcastle's Pizza Express), we need to stop putting up with the mediocre. In fact, accepting the mediocre has become a deeply entrenched threat to the financial products and services we rely on.

Just over a year ago I believed that new challenger banks were on the edge of glory, about to kick off an era of better and fairer banking for everybody. In an article for ResPublica I wrote: 'When real colour is injected into the financial services industry, consumers will be better served and ultimately empowered to engage.' New challenger banks were meant to deliver this colour, and to better serve customers. Alas, I wrong. New banks are simply not delivering better banking. These new challenger banks are important because they’ve been held up as the white knights of banking. The story goes something like this: more competition will force bloated incumbents to get a little bit smarter and help to improve products and customer services across the board.

The insurance industry is the boring uncle of the financial services family - a little drab and likely to be found in a basement listening to Daniel O’Donnell on a Saturday night. By contrast, banking conjures up colourful images of Wolf of Wall Street excess, which has helped to fuel a healthy dose of scrutiny. Being boring has shielded the insurance industry from its fair share of scrutiny for far too long. Issues have emerged that don’t receive the level of scrutiny they deserve. Readers of this article will be all too familiar with freefalling savings rates. It’s a bitter pill, but we’ve swallowed it.