The fatwa the Telegraph business pages have against using me could be because of my habit of saying things like this:
Ben Marlow
Shameless banks are making millions from Britain’s biggest benefits wheeze
Motability Operation was founded with good intentions. Now it’s just another Square Mile money-spinner
Oh Dear.
Yet there are others that are taking advantage of what began as a thoroughly well-intentioned venture, and frankly, should know better.
If Miller was truly serious about his clean-up act, questions would also be asked of the cohort of high street banking giants that are shamelessly feasting on what is in danger of becoming the country’s biggest benefits wheeze.
Motability Foundation is an independent charity. But the scheme itself is delivered by a separate corporate entity called Motability Operations that is owned by Britain’s four largest banks: Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds.
The first three each own 19.99pc of the equity, while Lloyds’s shareholding is double that, having inherited HBOS’s stake when the pair were forced into a shotgun marriage during the financial crash.
The quartet make a virtue of the fact that Motability operates on a not-for-profit basis, that any surplus is reinvested to “support disabled people” and that they don’t pay themselves dividends. But that is a misleading and overly flattering take on proceedings, to say the least.
Financing organisation borrows money to finance financing and the people who lend it money are feasting upon doing so.
We’re going to get complaints about the Knights Templar soon enough.
Which is to rather miss the point here. What was one of the things that lockdown did? Raised the price of second hand cars. Thus a car leasing organisation made out like a bandit as leases came to an end, cars were sold into hte second hand market at much higher than predicted prices – depreciation was much less than expected.
Cool!
What is happening right now? Depreciation rates of ‘leccie vehicles are eye watering. Very much higher than expected even. And yes, Motability is leasing ‘leccies to all these people (OK, near all). Who is going to get it in the neck for that excess over predicted depreciation? Why, the lease financing company.
Which is fun, don’t you think? Shrieks about excess profit right at the top of the market and months, mere months, before the losses arrive…..getting turned on about the profits to be made packing oranges in Cyprus just before the Swiss bonds aren’t repaid stuff….
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