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Blame the banks #

Posted by Kelly Clarke on January 27, 2009, 6:49 pm
Message modified by board administrator January 29, 2009, 11:34 am

Having just watched tonights news i see the government are bailing out the manufacturers with a loan to try and keep things moving on the production lines, but it was also interesting to read todays local newspaper which has a survey in it saying that 300,000 people had applied for loans to buy another car in the past 6 months but all had been declined.

If the banks lent the money then they would still be selling cars so no bail out would be required and we would not need to ultimately foot the bill.

Kelly

Re: blame the banks

Posted by mark rushby on January 27, 2009, 10:03 pm, in reply to "blame the banks"
Mark Rushby

i'm just coming upto one years trading, when we first started we leased some equipment, all of last year we recieved regular and numerous calls asking if we needed anything else! with just starting up we declined, trying to pay the bills we already had without increasing our debt more.

just before christmas one of our 2 ramps died in the middle of fitting a clutch, joy

. so rang the said lease company with the figures for a new 2 poster, sorry sir we're not taking on any new business at the moment.

so we then rang the lease brokers who sorted it all out in the first place, because we are a new business we need a guarantor, got one sorted and then we recieved a phone call saying that they can't lend us the money, "but in the present financial climate we can only lend you double what you need." thanks but no thanks!

all we see is doom and gloom in the press, and one token figurehead in "charge" telling us that the banks will be lending again! what a load of rubbish!

i needed help , didn't get it. So much for helping small businesses through this time, if only i'd asked for £2.3Bn

luckily we have our own bank that said yes! thanks mother in law

sorry for going on!

cheers mark

Re: blame the banks

Posted by charles scatchard on January 27, 2009, 10:05 pm, in reply to "blame the banks"

Yes but how many of them would have not been able to pay it back. A lot of people have been living in a fantasy world for the last few years believing the spending would never end. I think unfortunately that some shrinkage is inevitable as the level we should be at is reached. Asset values have been inflated by access to easy money, a lot of which has now been lost(yes blame the banks). Lenders will now be a lot more cautious whom they lend to.
I think most members here will be ok as people will keep and repair their cars rather than change. So it’s not all bad.

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Peter Warman on January 28, 2009, 1:56 pm, in reply to "blame the banks"
Peter Warman - Administrator

Hi Kelly

"Blame the banks".....spot on

My little story:

Every weekend we go into our local town with friends, usually for a meal at around 7pm, our favorite place usually gets busy around 9pm. But over the last couple of months we are now having to go out earlier to get a seat and sometimes have to wait an hour

All around the town the restaurants are much busier, plus 2 new Indian restaurants opening in the last month

At my local pub you could walk up there around 6pm and have meal, but now every day of the week if you get there after 6:30pm you will not get a seat and the car park is rammed

The theory:

These people are your average worker that probably has some disposable cash each month, say £500:00. Normally he would probably be paying off his Bank or Finance company car loan for his new or second hand vehicle........but now the banks or finance companies will not lend to them as they deem anyone earning less than 50k or outright house owner a bad risk. So these people are going out and enjoying themselves instead

Funny how things change, when i got my mortgage 25 years ago i could only borrow 2.5 times my income and needed a 10% deposit, then 20 years later the same greedy (foolish) banks are lending 110% mortgage on 6 times their earnings with no deposit

. The American banks do the same to people with wooden houses that blow down in a strong wind and shacks in deprived areas.....they then sell these mortgages onto greedy UK banks who then wonder whats happened when someone flicks the switch on the party

The danger now is that many will get used to having a bit of extra cash to spend on going out, leisure and keeping their 4/5 year only car going a few more years rather than worry about paying back a 10k car loan

Got to get the banks lending again, the only way to save our Motor Industry

Peter

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Richard Endean on January 29, 2009, 1:12 am, in reply to "Re: blame the banks"

Peter,

I'm glad to hear that average workers in your part of the world have £500 a month spare. Down in sunny south Devon the average salary is £14k and the average house is £200k! Three pubs/restaurants have closed in our town in the last 6 months so things ain't easy.

From a business standpoint we're cautiously optimistic and to help customers we're spreading maintenance/repairs out over a few months e.g. tyres now, brakes March, cam belt May etc. This avoids them getting into debt with credit cards and so on - which they appreciate.

Back to the issue of the banks and business finance, I would say - from experience - that you should shop around. Attitudes vary tremendously from one bank (or even branch) to the next.

Keep smiling,
Richard

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Steve Nicholas on January 29, 2009, 8:34 am, in reply to "Re: blame the banks"

I suspect that Peter is in the Stockbroker Belt or close to it and that explains the major difference.

I could never see how the economy could continue working as it was, based on quicksand. Whilst the motor industry has provided thousands of jobs it is a kind of incestuous cycle that maintains it.

To rescue us by providing more of what was the root-cause in the first place, that is, more credit, surely ain't gonna work!

Too little, too late. Someone described the recent survival measures as "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic". Trouble is, a lot of the deckchairs were on loan from landlubbers like us.

Like a lot of people, I have been fortunate enough to have saved some money and have a small pension fund. I have seen my investments decline in value whilst HMG promise the banks and all vast backing (using our tax money of course).

Yes, they may have to pay the money back but in the meantime some of us are losing out again. No dividends until HMG is paid back!

Meanwhile, I hear that some bankers (and did you know that the collective noun for a group of bankers is a "wunch"?) are still rewarding themselves for their profligacy and failure with bonuses!

Yours and my bonuses are to still be in business at the end of the year despite the greed and incompetence of these 'Erberts!

The only advantage to me (and you guys) is that with the slowdown in new car sales we may hope for continuing business maintaining older cars for longer - and, as a spin-off, a slowdown in the introduction of the technology changes we are all wary of.

Soap box away and with apologies for the rant, I just have to get used to the idea that I will have to work til I am a hundred and twenty-twelve,

Steve

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Shaun on January 29, 2009, 9:52 am, in reply to "Re: blame the banks"
Shaun Dale

"and did you know that the collective noun for a group of bankers is a "wunch"?"
I almost choked on my ham sandwich

Seriously though, I'm just about ok as an Electrician/Diagnostician, people have to have their cars repaired if they can't afford a new one. It is quite noticeable though that I now have a much larger proportion of non-runners, obviously "if the car still drives I'll put up with it" is happening more.
Shaun

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Ian Gray on January 29, 2009, 11:15 am, in reply to "Re: blame the banks"
Ian Gray

Apparently the recent bank bailouts amount to each one of us now owing in the region of £10k. Would it not have been better to give us all the money instead, we would have either saved it (boosting the bank's balance sheet) or spent it at the sharp end of the economy (which would also have found it's way back to the bank, helping businesses on the way)

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Jim Watson on January 29, 2009, 4:49 pm, in reply to "Re: blame the banks"
Jim Watson

Saw an interesting article the other day which mentioned the fact that when Bill Clinton was in power he made it illegal for banks to refuse to give mortgages to people who did not earn enough money to pay it back, had not seen that in any other paper or news report, Jim.

Re: blame the banks

Posted by Martin Stackemann on January 29, 2009, 8:05 pm, in reply to "Re: blame the banks"
Martin Stackemann

Your right Jim he deregulated the banks and finance houses,but would you borrow money from Fanny Mai or Fanny Mac ? Thats the Yanks for you

I've lived through two recessions one more shouldn't be a problem mind you I proberbly wont be here in 2031 when they expect to pay it back, what pee's me off there might not be any state pension when I retire

Martin

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