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| Back to ye olden days banking? | Back to ye olden days banking? |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Bank manager Neville Tarratt in footage from 1975 | |
| By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine | By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine |
| The financial crisis has led to calls for a return to old-fashioned banking. But it's easy to forget that once upon a time current accounts cost money, you needed to be nominated to even get an account, there were no cash machines and banks could be intimidating places. | The financial crisis has led to calls for a return to old-fashioned banking. But it's easy to forget that once upon a time current accounts cost money, you needed to be nominated to even get an account, there were no cash machines and banks could be intimidating places. |
| We all know what a bank manager looks like. Staring down his nose over half-moon spectacles, this custodian of high street finance is not happy with the state of your account. | We all know what a bank manager looks like. Staring down his nose over half-moon spectacles, this custodian of high street finance is not happy with the state of your account. |
| And yet this stereotypical manager ceased to be the key figure in banking some time ago and, despite being vaunted in the press as a bulwark against foolish lending practices, is little more than a folk memory for many. You knew whether someone was spending a lot of time at local bookies or whether they were off with somebody else's wife Neville TarrattFormer bank manager | And yet this stereotypical manager ceased to be the key figure in banking some time ago and, despite being vaunted in the press as a bulwark against foolish lending practices, is little more than a folk memory for many. You knew whether someone was spending a lot of time at local bookies or whether they were off with somebody else's wife Neville TarrattFormer bank manager |
| Particularly for people under the age of 30, the nearest they get to the old-style manager is watching Dad's Army, whose Captain Mainwaring acts as a miserly check on the finances of Walmington-on-Sea. | Particularly for people under the age of 30, the nearest they get to the old-style manager is watching Dad's Army, whose Captain Mainwaring acts as a miserly check on the finances of Walmington-on-Sea. |
| Starting in the late 1960s and through the 1970s and intensifying during the deregulation of the 1980s, banks changed. The world of banking before this was unrecognisable. | Starting in the late 1960s and through the 1970s and intensifying during the deregulation of the 1980s, banks changed. The world of banking before this was unrecognisable. |
| In 1975, Neville Tarratt featured in a BBC Money Programme that followed a day in his life as a manager at a Barclays branch in Stratford-upon-Avon. | In 1975, Neville Tarratt featured in a BBC Money Programme that followed a day in his life as a manager at a Barclays branch in Stratford-upon-Avon. |
| The programme shows Mr Tarratt interviewing a young couple about their prospects for a loan, visiting local businesses and even spending some time on the golf course. | The programme shows Mr Tarratt interviewing a young couple about their prospects for a loan, visiting local businesses and even spending some time on the golf course. |
| 'Know your customer' | 'Know your customer' |
| Having retired in 1982 after 41 years service and remained as a Barclays customer, Mr Tarratt, now 83, has seen things change. | Having retired in 1982 after 41 years service and remained as a Barclays customer, Mr Tarratt, now 83, has seen things change. |
| "The difference now is the decline of the old-fashioned bank manager, the manager who was known to everyone in town. The other thing is that you can't ring the branch anymore. My big maxim was 'know your customer'. I don't think they do now." | "The difference now is the decline of the old-fashioned bank manager, the manager who was known to everyone in town. The other thing is that you can't ring the branch anymore. My big maxim was 'know your customer'. I don't think they do now." |
| Knowing the lives of customers inside out made decisions on loans much easier.Ronald Ibbotson and staff at his branch in AmesburyEnlarge Image | Knowing the lives of customers inside out made decisions on loans much easier.Ronald Ibbotson and staff at his branch in AmesburyEnlarge Image |
| "You were the focal point of local business affairs, you were part of the local community. You knew whether someone was spending a lot of time at local bookies or whether they were off with somebody else's wife." | "You were the focal point of local business affairs, you were part of the local community. You knew whether someone was spending a lot of time at local bookies or whether they were off with somebody else's wife." |
| Brian Capon, who spent the 1970s as an assistant manager at Midland branches in Northamptonshire, remembers this very different banking world, one where many people did not have accounts. | Brian Capon, who spent the 1970s as an assistant manager at Midland branches in Northamptonshire, remembers this very different banking world, one where many people did not have accounts. |
| "It was very strict. You couldn't get an account unless you were introduced by two existing customers." | "It was very strict. You couldn't get an account unless you were introduced by two existing customers." |
| With advertising and cut-throat competition still far off, families tended to stick to the same bank. | With advertising and cut-throat competition still far off, families tended to stick to the same bank. |
| "Let's say you had an account and a particular family member went to university. They came in to open an account - father would bring the offspring in and introduce them to the manager who would give them a pep talk and warn them not to get overdrawn." | "Let's say you had an account and a particular family member went to university. They came in to open an account - father would bring the offspring in and introduce them to the manager who would give them a pep talk and warn them not to get overdrawn." |
| Shop front | Shop front |
| The High Street banks still boast of the numbers of "local business managers" they have, but there's no doubt control has been centralised. | The High Street banks still boast of the numbers of "local business managers" they have, but there's no doubt control has been centralised. |
| Banks want you to call an 0845 number. They don't want you to call your local branch. In many ways branches act as a shop front for a range of products, rather than the centre of services. | Banks want you to call an 0845 number. They don't want you to call your local branch. In many ways branches act as a shop front for a range of products, rather than the centre of services. |
| THE OLD WAY Fees for accountHarder to get accountNo cash machinesBanks did not usually give mortgagesAccounts managed locally | THE OLD WAY Fees for accountHarder to get accountNo cash machinesBanks did not usually give mortgagesAccounts managed locally |
| It's not a situation that pleases Ronald Ibbotson, who joined the (now defunct) Martins Bank group in 1949 and managed the Barclays branch in Amesbury, Wiltshire, between 1972 and 1986. | It's not a situation that pleases Ronald Ibbotson, who joined the (now defunct) Martins Bank group in 1949 and managed the Barclays branch in Amesbury, Wiltshire, between 1972 and 1986. |
| The key for him was a presence in a local community that enabled informed financial decisions to be made about people who wanted credit. | The key for him was a presence in a local community that enabled informed financial decisions to be made about people who wanted credit. |
| "Now it's run more or less by computers and IT programmes. If you fit in one of these boxes you're fine. | "Now it's run more or less by computers and IT programmes. If you fit in one of these boxes you're fine. |
| "I made a lot of loans to people who wouldn't have been granted them had they gone into a bank today. I knew them, I knew what they were capable of repaying. I used to go and visit their businesses and see what they did, what they made and how they seemed. Today risk management is done by computers." | "I made a lot of loans to people who wouldn't have been granted them had they gone into a bank today. I knew them, I knew what they were capable of repaying. I used to go and visit their businesses and see what they did, what they made and how they seemed. Today risk management is done by computers." |
| Family snapshot | Family snapshot |
| And those computers can sometimes struggle to match the assessment that somebody with a close connection to both families and businesses can make. | And those computers can sometimes struggle to match the assessment that somebody with a close connection to both families and businesses can make. |
| "The bank manager would know the family financial background," says Mr Capon, who now works for the British Bankers' Association. | "The bank manager would know the family financial background," says Mr Capon, who now works for the British Bankers' Association. |
| "He had a complete snapshot of your finances. If you had shares the dividends would be paid through the bank. Nowadays people can have accounts in all sorts of different institutions." | "He had a complete snapshot of your finances. If you had shares the dividends would be paid through the bank. Nowadays people can have accounts in all sorts of different institutions." |
| But of course, while it's easy to be nostalgic about an era when banks had some idea of what the people they were lending to were like, there were plenty of downsides to old-school banking. | But of course, while it's easy to be nostalgic about an era when banks had some idea of what the people they were lending to were like, there were plenty of downsides to old-school banking. |
| "There was no such thing as free banking," says Mr Capon. "If you had a bank account you paid for it. And in those days you had to pay stamp duty on cheques and withdrawals - two old pennies straight to the government." | "There was no such thing as free banking," says Mr Capon. "If you had a bank account you paid for it. And in those days you had to pay stamp duty on cheques and withdrawals - two old pennies straight to the government." |
| And the convenience we have today was a distant dream in the banks of yore. Cash machines made their debut in the UK in the 1960s but ubiquity did not come for many years. | And the convenience we have today was a distant dream in the banks of yore. Cash machines made their debut in the UK in the 1960s but ubiquity did not come for many years. |
| Erratic machines | Erratic machines |
| In the 1980s the advert for Halifax's Cardcash account showed the power of the idea of convenience. A young chap rises on a Sunday morning - with Lionel Richie's Easy Like Sunday Morning playing - finds there is no milk in the fridge, his cat is hungry and he has no money in his wallet. No fear - he's off in a moment, out of his warehouse conversion to the cash machine. The message is clear - convenience is here and it's a minor miracle. | In the 1980s the advert for Halifax's Cardcash account showed the power of the idea of convenience. A young chap rises on a Sunday morning - with Lionel Richie's Easy Like Sunday Morning playing - finds there is no milk in the fridge, his cat is hungry and he has no money in his wallet. No fear - he's off in a moment, out of his warehouse conversion to the cash machine. The message is clear - convenience is here and it's a minor miracle. |
| Mr Ibbotson, 75, remembers the first cash machine installed in Southampton being an erratic beast. | Mr Ibbotson, 75, remembers the first cash machine installed in Southampton being an erratic beast. |
| "Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. If it didn't it used to have a little notice saying the nearest machine is in Winchester [14 miles] or Portsmouth [18 miles]. It was a source of embarrassment."Banking was a lot more personal back in the day | "Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. If it didn't it used to have a little notice saying the nearest machine is in Winchester [14 miles] or Portsmouth [18 miles]. It was a source of embarrassment."Banking was a lot more personal back in the day |
| And, as Mr Capon recalls, if you weren't an early cash card adopter getting money out could sometimes be a difficult thing. You might struggle to cash cheques at branches other than your own, and might have to make special arrangements every time you left town. | And, as Mr Capon recalls, if you weren't an early cash card adopter getting money out could sometimes be a difficult thing. You might struggle to cash cheques at branches other than your own, and might have to make special arrangements every time you left town. |
| "A lot of people think those were the days, but how many people want to go back to those days where you were limited to Monday to Friday 9am-3.30pm?" | "A lot of people think those were the days, but how many people want to go back to those days where you were limited to Monday to Friday 9am-3.30pm?" |
| The 1980s also saw banks move into mortgages, competing with building societies. Mr Ibbotson remembers being regularly taken to lunch by the local building society manager to give an assessment of potential housebuyers. That symbiotic relationship soon ended. | The 1980s also saw banks move into mortgages, competing with building societies. Mr Ibbotson remembers being regularly taken to lunch by the local building society manager to give an assessment of potential housebuyers. That symbiotic relationship soon ended. |
| "It was a very big change and it immediately alienated your local building societies." | "It was a very big change and it immediately alienated your local building societies." |
| There will be many who do not miss the paternalistic aura of the old-fashioned bank manager. Many want banks to compete for our business. And there are many who prefer the big windows, spangly carpets and colourful displays of the new banks to the dusty austerity of the old banks. | There will be many who do not miss the paternalistic aura of the old-fashioned bank manager. Many want banks to compete for our business. And there are many who prefer the big windows, spangly carpets and colourful displays of the new banks to the dusty austerity of the old banks. |
| "You go the front door of the bank nowadays it is a much better banking atmosphere," says Mr Capon. "It is very easy to look back into the past with rose-tinted spectacles." | "You go the front door of the bank nowadays it is a much better banking atmosphere," says Mr Capon. "It is very easy to look back into the past with rose-tinted spectacles." |
| Send us your comments using the form below. | Send us your comments using the form below. |