NCA (National Credit Act). We moaned like drains when it came in but man are we happy about it now.
The credit party that the banks were having had to end at some point – if I think back to this time last year, I was seemingly offered every way of taking credit, I and they could think of. New car? Hundreds of thousands available via my bond…why not take a vacation and charge it? If they thought they could appeal to your sense of “easy come-easy go” they pounced on it. I actually turned down a credit card with 100k limit…what the hell? I could have nipped out and picked up a car with one easy swipe – no questions asked!
Let’s be honest, the banks probably knew quite well that by the time the NCA came into full force the party would be winding up. They went into full “sell, sell, sell!” mode to off load as much credit as they could before, legally, they would hamstrung to do so. They flooded the market with easy schemes and easy dreams. What they probably didn’t see was the Credit Tsunami that came via the States and Europe. Make as much as you can now out of those who we won’t be able to hit later and we will be smiling for a longtime, they perhaps thought.
Mmm…then came a worldwide market meltdown and here we sit. They extended cash at an unbelievable rate and now those who took it are now under huge pressure to pay it back – and it’s only going to get worse. What happened to the banks being the ones you could trust with your money. Places of safety for your hard earned cash? They rip us off, give advice that financially suits them and charge you for every move you make. Sadly there is little choice but to keep your money in the bank but it irks me to know that while it is sitting there, they are finding ways to erode it for me. If you stuck R1000 in the bank right now and left it for a year, I am damn certain that despite any interest added you would be a few Rand down by the end of 12 months. Charges for having an account…charges for adding money, charges for internet access to statements, atm charges…the list is practically endless.
The NCA perhaps came in a little late but I think saved us more than we know. Had the banks not been reigned in we could still be in the midst of there “get out of jail free” mentality (free at x amount of interest over x amount of years – no questions asked).
While it makes it harder to access cash at the same time it is a built-in protection scheme that saves us from ourselves.
I actually hope the banks suffer – we have one of the highest charges for banking in the world, a monopoly of 4 institutions and rip-off mentality that exists throughout the entire industry. Banks should be making money for you and I by investing that cash properly. Not building on profit by charging us to use our money.
No comments:
Post a Comment