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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
A new public banking ecosystem
Acting CWU regional secretary in Scotland CRAIG ANDERSON explains the need for change to our privately dominated banking system

BRITAIN has one of the largest, least diverse, most complex and interconnected financial systems of the advanced economies.

In contrast to many other countries, the banking sector in Britain is dominated by a handful of large, shareholder-owned universal banks, whose main aim is to maximise shareholder return.

Britain is also unusual in that it lacks a significant local or regional banking presence — the market is overwhelmingly dominated by national and often internationally orientated banks.

These features contribute towards a number of social and economic problems.

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