News

Against the backdrop of the G20 meeting in London, four bank workers from Brazil, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States will give a special insider media briefing on banking practices that are adding real risk to consumers and the economy.



Bank workers taking part in the call will talk about their experiences in selling financial products around the world. The briefing will be moderated by the head of UNI Finance Global Union, Oliver Roethig. UNI Finance has developed key elements of a new business model that would reshape the financial system.



As the global economy worsens, with unsafe banking practices at the heart of the crisis, finance workers from around the world will blow the whistle on increasingly irresponsible sales practices and more pressure to sell financial products to consumers, regardless of whether they fit customer need or reflect their ability to pay. Finance workers will talk about how incentive systems to sell products can put them in conflict with customers’ needs and interfere with the way they deal with clients.



”Front line workers in branches and call centres throughout the sector are under constant pressure to achieve tough targets on sales and referrals. If we don't achieve them we lose out on bonuses and increases in our already meagre basic pay. In the end, if we fail on our targets we will lose our jobs” says a team leader in general insurance at Lloyds Banking Group.



Roethig will discuss the bank business model that UNI is urging the G20 leaders to adopt and enforce in their countries and how it will improve the lives of workers and customers and strengthen communities and the global economy.

The speakers will discuss how banks have shifted their business model from a service to a sales-driven culture and what this means for employees as well as customers, communities and the economy. Banks put their business and the global economy at risk by focusing on the “hard sell” rather than providing responsible and sustainable advice and service to customers.



In the United States, where predatory lending and sales practices are particularly bad, workers often feel powerless to fight back because the finance sector is entirely non-union. Banks have capitalised on this by maintaining a hostile attitude towards organising and American bank workers fear retribution from employers if they publicly support unionisation.



UNI Finance Global Union and its affiliated trade unions call on the G20 leaders to address the issue of incentive and remuneration systems for all bank employees and not only top executives, as well as urging leaders to heed the voice of front-line finance workers.



UNI Finance is the Global Union for the banking and insurance industries. We represent 237 trade unions and 3 million workers worldwide.





CONTACT:



Rachel Cohen

UNI Global Union

Head of Communications

Rachel.cohen@uniglobalunion.org

+41 22 365 2129





A background document with more specific information on this issue is available under "Related files".