Finsec members fighting demoralising KPIs

Finsec members from Westpac in the Greater Wellington region are stepping up their campaign for fairer KPIs with a collective letter to the bank’s CEO asking him to a public meeting to discuss the issue.

After an increase to KPIs without consultation last year, Manawatu based members from Levin, Feilding, Broadway Avenue, Terrace End, Rangikikei Street and Bulls branches wrote to area managers asking for a reversal to the increase. Finsec delegate Nathan Ryba from Terrace End branch said that the impact of the rise was not just felt by individuals, but “with the majority of staff not achieving targets, it demoralises the entire workforce.”

“We would like the bank to respond with reasonable measures to address our concerns and acknowledge the pressure the workforce is under. If not, we’ve asked them to front up to a meeting to explain to staff and the public why they saw a need to increase KPIs at this time.”

Demand for consumer credit lowest in 4 years

Incoming Minister of Consumer Affairs Heather Roy has been advised that demand for consumer credit is at its lowest in four years, while debt defaults have doubled.

Consumer debt statistics have been reported by Veda Advantage and reported on National Radio this week.

Credit cards default payments are up by 23% on last year and 28% to the end of June. An estimated 70% of credit card users pay only their minimum monthly balance.

Finsec members have continually called on all the banks to amend their sales targets in light of the economic downturn.

Credit card interest rates too high

Credit cards have been in the news this week after Finsec called on the banks to explain why interest rates haven’t dropped in response to reductions in the Official Cash rate and in the face of mounting evidence that the recession is causing greater reliance on credit cards to cover weekly expenses.

“Credit card interest rates are over 20% on average. High interest rates create a plastic prison that many customers will take years to escape from,” said  Finsec Campaigns Director Andrew Campbell. We also pointed out that the increase in applications for credit cards might have something to do with sales targets for staff. “It is time for the banks to rethink their interest rate charges and also the sales targets that force bank staff to push credit cards on to customers.”

“Bank branches everywhere have sales and referral targets for credit cards that are making our debt addiction even worse. Employment practices need to reflect a greater social responsibility rather than a never-ending quest for bigger profits.” said Campbell.

Check out some of the media coverage on credit card interest rates here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10542951
http://www.radionz.co.nz/__data/assets/audio_item/0008/1781729/mnr-20081113-0639-Interest_rates_on_credit_cards-m048.asx

Obama and Finsec: Yes we can!

With street parties still in full swing celebrating the historic election of Barack Obama, the Gossip has an important question to ask: what about me? And, yes, we have found that Obama does have some things in common with Finsec.

President-elect Obama has policies to address predatory credit card practices, including:

•    Establishing a five-star rating system so that consumers know the risks

•   Establishing a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop exploitation of customers

•    Apply interest rate increases only to future debt, prohibit interest on fees, and require prompt and fair crediting of cardholder payments

Now, if we could only get Oprah Winfrey to back the Better Banks campaign

Interest in credit card story

Finsec has been in the news this week due to credit card interest rates dropping for fixed periods as banks try to attract new custom.

Budget advisors have said that while lower interest rates are positive, people need to be wary of having to pay back more debt after Christmas.

Finsec told TV3 News “They’re bad for staff in that staff will be no doubt be forced to push them and they’re bad for the economy,” said Campaigns Director Andrew Campbell. “Our banks need to be leaders in increasing deposits and coming up with strategies that deal with the current financial crisis.”

Check out the following coverage:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/Business/tabid/369/articleID/77535/cat/58/Default.aspx#vide

http://www.radionz.co.nz/__data/assets/audio_item/0011/1465589/ckpt-20080424-1716-High_Interst_Rates_part_2-wmbr.asx

BNZ profit of $657 million proves lending regulation needed

This week Finsec called on the government to impose regulation to promote ethical lending in exchange for giving wholesale lending guarantees to banks in light of the BNZ’s $657 million profit announced this week, a 9% increase over last year.

“If the BNZ and other banks want tax payers to underwrite their borrowing, then customers need and deserve guarantees that lending practices will be fair and ethical”, said Andrew Campbell, Finsec Campaigns Director.

“The BNZ has increased its referral targets for tellers by 50% and for customer services officers by 66.6%. That means BNZ customers will be coming under more pressure to get into debt or take on other bank products,” said Campbell.

“The $106 million increase in bad debt provisions indicates that potentially inappropriate lending is already occurring.  BNZ staff have said the increase in targets forces them to act in ways that may not be in the best interests of their customers,” said Campbell.

BNZ makes some changes but pushes ahead with unachievable targets

BNZ is pushing ahead with unachievable new targets, but has made some changes in response to submissions from Finsec members.

Targets are to be adjusted down to reflect sick leave and public holidays. They have also adjusted the products to change the focus from selling debt products to other products and services. From December onwards the threshold will be set at 20 sales per week for Banking Advisors and Personal Managers.

BNZ Union Council Chair Callum Francis said that these concessions are not enough and that the new targets are bad news for both customers and staff. “We intend to keep putting pressure on the bank to reconsider these targets. To do this we need staff to get active on this issue and keep us up to date on the impact of targets both on our work for the bank and on our customers.”

Ombudsman involved in case of ANZ “pushing product”

Yesterday’s Business Herald  featured a story about the Banking Ombudsman’s involvement in cases reclaiming frozen funds from ANZ tied up in ING funds.

The bank has paid out more than $200,000 to one elderly woman, one of a number of settlements the bank has reached with people who invested through ANZ financial advisors.

The story goes on to say ‘Financial planner Jeff Matthews of Spicers Wealth Management, said the adice ANZ gave was poor. “They were’t trying to solve someone’s [investment]  problem, they were just pushing product.”

Finsec will be launching a major campaign to take on the banks’ sales targets that put pressure on staff to sell products, sometimes beyond what customers want or need. Watch this space. For the full Herald story, follow this link:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10535307

4% pay rise at ANZ National – the good and the bad

ANZ National’s next pay run will include the 4% pay rise for Finsec members, and Union Council Chair Cathie Lendrum says there are negative and positive aspects to consider in relation to the pay offer.

“While 4% is less than members wanted and deserved, we wouldn’t have got it without the longstanding campaigning of Finsec members for fair pay,” said Cathie.  “We also need to remember that 4% is more than the average pay increase of 3.5%, and is the biggest annualised pay increase we’ve had in years.”

“As we enter a campaign for fairer targets and more staff, we need to take a good, hard look at the negative positions the bank has taken on these important issues. Targets and staffing are the two issues ANZ National has been most reluctant to address, and more of the same won’t work,” said Cathie. “To win we need more of our colleagues to join our union, and to all be more active in support of what we want.”

Westpac workers ratify historic pay deal

Finsec members in Westpac have voted in favour of an historic collective agreement settlement offer that includes a new competency based pay system that removes debt sales targets being linked to pay increases and a 5% wage increase.

“5% is the highest annual wage increase negotiated in the major banks for over a decade,” said Finsec Vice-President and Westpac Union Council Chairperson Maxine Mullen. “Westpac are currently leading the rest of the banks in working with union members to address key issues that face our industry. There are still aspects of the sales target system we want to see changed, but this is a very important step in the right direction,”

Finsec Campaigns Director Andrew Campbell said the Westpac negotiations provided a sharp contrast with the lack of progress made with ANZ National. Industrial action is scheduled for Friday this week after the bank refused to increase their 4% pay offer or change targets.

“There is a huge difference between the two banks in negotiations. Westpac has been prepared to listen to staff and customer concerns while ANZ National has not. In addition to sending hundreds of good Kiwi jobs to Bangalore the bank is offering a lower wage increase than Westpac and won’t review their sales targets,” said Campbell.