We own RBS. Let’s make it work for us

After a financial crisis caused by casino economics and deregulation, and a string of fraud and corruption scandals, people expected the big banks to be reined in – or at least made more accountable.

But eight years on, it is business as usual. The City still calls the shots, derailing attempts at reform and watching as whole regions are starved of investment. In contrast, the wealth of those with financial assets has only grown through successive rounds of quantitative easing.

The sector is as unstable and dysfunctional as it was in 2008. Our banks are still too-big-to-fail, and we all stand to pay the price.

LeoLondon

We can’t afford to wait for regulators to hold the financial sector to account. Together, we own the solution: the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The UK public bailed out RBS for £45.5bn. If we sold it now, we’d lose an eyewatering £30bn. By breaking it up into a network of 130 local banks, each with a mission to support and revitalise the communities they serve, we can make good on our investment and strengthen our economy against further crises.

“Together, we own the solution to our banking system.”

The Sparkassen banks in Germany are proof it is possible. We’re also exploring the potential for building more people’s banks from the bottom up – whether it’s through initiatives like the Blue New Deal in coastal communities, or by working in partnership with groups such as the Community Savings Bank Association.