Unite: Delay to 2019 kicks banking reform into long grass

David Fleming, Unite national officer, accuses the government of kicking banking reform into the long-grass:

"The proposals set out today kick the overdue reform of the banking sector into the long-grass. The suggestion to create firewalls in 2019 will bring immediate uncertainty to workers across the sector, while the greedy bankers find ways to manoeuvre around, and lobby against these reforms.

"Simply creating a firewall is a best a weak gesture and at worst a pointless act which will not in any material way impact the behaviour or culture at the top of the banks where this crisis was born.

"The report today makes no mention of the more than 150,000 finance workers who have lost their jobs in bank branches, call centres and processing centres across the country since the start of the banking crisis four years ago as a result of the greed of those at the top of the sector.

"The glaring omissions on workforce engagement and meaningful changes to remuneration systems within banking means that this report is another missed opportunity in preventing a repeat of the financial crisis in the future.

"The banking regulators must carry a heavier burden in ensuring that the finance sector complies with their capital requirements, and scrutinise the information presented to them. Simply looking the other way is costing families dearly, with every job that the industry slashes being a personal tragedy."

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