Big Bang Banking

Abstract

In this chapter, I trace how changing global economic circumstances, cultural sentiments, and the political climate of the late 1970s altered banking culture and practice. A different type of relationship between the banks and the personal financial market emerged. By the end of the 1970s, 76% of Britons had bank accounts. Targeting the unbanked no longer made sense after the banks’ rapid expansion as marketers pointed out: ‘The unbanked as a vast army of untapped banking business has become a myth that banks would do well to forget’ (Smart, 1984, p. 13.). Another marketer pointed out, ‘What many banks are now beginning to understand is that the notion of a homogeneous mass market is quaint and dangerous’ (Mooney, 1995, p. 58). Further, the banks’ extensive networks proved a liability for a new generation of consumers who grew weary of the mass model. The idea of mass-banking too easily appeared to suppress uniqueness: the friendly-smile management could appear as simply a cover for an alienating bureaucracy.