Rejoinder (wk#5): Banking practices in Canada come into the light.
In response to an article "GO PUBLIC I 'We are all doing it': Employees at Canada's 5 big banks speak out about pressure to dupe customers.
By Erica Johnson, CBC News Posted: Mar 15, 2017 / Last Updated: Apr 11, 2017.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/banks-upselling-go-public-1.4023575
In the aftermath of TD employees coming into the light via Go Public on March 10th, 2017, about pressure to sell customers products and services they may not need, with some employees even breaking the law in order to meet their sales revenue targets. More disturbing accounts have been streaming in from across Canada.
Employess from the top 5 banks in Canada, have been letting loose through Go Public, with their stories of how, to keep meeting unrealistic sales targets and keep their jobs, felt pressured to upsell, mis-lead, and lie to customers.
Almost 1000 emails have come in from employees from TD, CIBC, BMO, RBC and Scotiabank locations across Canada describing the pressures to hit goals that are monitored closely, and employees risk losing their jobs for not meeting these goals.
In speaking about the TD article of March 10th, 2017, experts say, prompted the largest drop in TD Bank shares since the financial market downturn of 2009.
In Calgary, employees from several RBC branches explained some of the ‘shaming and bullying’ tactics from management. They said there are white boards in the staff room which display which financial advisors are meeting their targets, and which advisors are not.
All of this information coming into the light has been fuelling multiple calls for a parliamentary inquiry, even as the banks claim they're acting in customers' best interests.
to watch a CBC report click this link.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/898380867932/
Things that stand out to me in this article are that;
After Go Public requested interviews, all CEO’s of these 5 banks have declined them, and instead published statements. “essentially saying the banks act in the best interest of their clients, and that employees are expected to follow codes of conduct.
What is missing in these statements is an address to their employees’ concerns about high-pressure sales tactics.
Something I am concerned about is that if they aren’t addressing these concerns even with all the public spotlight, will they address them at all?
There have been calls for inquiry at the parliamentary level.
Alexandre Boulerice, who is the NDP finance critic, is now calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the sales practices of Canada's banks.
"We expect banks to be honest with their clients ... and now we are learning that those employees are under considerable pressure to sell, sell, sell to boost profits of the banks," he said. "This is so greedy. It is not acceptable."
He also stated "We've got a culture that exists on greed, lying and deceiving people, and it's not going to end soon.”
Federal NDP finance critic Alexandre Boulerice wants a parliamentary inquiry. (CBC)
Finance Minister Bill Morneau was said to be unavailable for an interview but a spokesperson on his behalf. However Morneau sent a statement that says Morneau "expects all financial institutions in Canada to adhere to the highest standards when it comes to their consumer protection obligations.”
Employees of these five big banks have said that due to expectations to hit sales targets, they are so stressed that they have had to take medical leave, while still others have said they had to quit.
They wrote, saying that their jobs were causing, or had caused ”insomnia," "nausea," "anxiety" and “depression."
Finally,
A CIBC small business associate who quit after nine years on the job in January said the worst part of her job was having young families in her office who agreed to re-mortgage their homes because of debt.
"We told them we were helping them, but essentially we were extending more credit so the vicious cycle would ... continue and we, in turn, would make a sale," she said.
To me, this whole system is broken. I am glad that some employees chose to quit, but this doesn’t have to be the solution, and shouldn’t have to be the solution. It disturbs me that our financial institution is behaving in such a way. On all levels. I honestly don’t know how it would work, but because of the dishonesty and illegal acts done by such companies, customers should be compensated for the wrong-doing done them, and if it actually had to cost the banks something, maybe they would change their tactics and put more emphasis on integrity, honesty and serving their customers to the best of their knowledge and ability, rather than taking advantage and turning a profit. It would cost them yes, but it could put them back in a good light with their customers and the public and benefit them in the long run. If they don’t deal with this situation, I think it will hurt them far worse in the long run. I also think that a parliamentary inquiry does need to take place, and better scrutiny of their methods and practices should be taking place to bring them all back into line.
