term relationships, can be a winning strategy. for example, take handelsbanken. how many of you have heard of them? they are not yet a high street name, by comparison with say a barclays or a lloyds. but that is changing. they may be the fastest expanding bank in the uk at the moment. on average, they open a new branch – not a cost centre, a branch every two weeks. their business model is fascinating, quaker - even, in its orientation. they offer only basic banking services, mortgages and small business loans, to people in a tight, locally - defined catchment area. all credit decisions are taken locally by people, not centrally by a computer. no bonuses are paid and no one has a sales - target. when the whole firm out - performs, a contribution is made to a pooled fund which is invested on employees ’ behalf. the fruits of success are distributed equally and gratification is deferred. bis central bankers ’ speeches for banking, this is back to the future. if that sounds attractive, then it is down to us – not regulators, not politicians, you and i – to deliver it. if as bank customers we want to change the culture of banking, then we should start by supporting those banks who are delivering that change. putting your money where your mouth is would deliver far greater and more durable change than any amount of banker - bashing. already there are some encouraging signs of the winds of change blowing through the system, not just from the new entrants but among the uk ’ s oldest banks too. the new heads of the uk ’ s biggest banks have committed to restoring trust in their institutions and improving their social usefulness. and those words are beginning to turn into actions. barclays and today lloyds are seeking to change their sales - oriented culture, returning to their quaker roots. there is the quiet, but unmistakable, sound of a leaf being turned. if i am right and a new leaf is being turned, then occupy will have played a key role in this fledgling financial reformation. you have put the arguments. you have helped win the debate. and policymakers, like me, will need your continuing support in delivering that radical change. references cecchetti, s g and kharroubi, e ( 2012 ), “ reassessing the impact of finance on growth ”, bank for international settlements. galbraith, james k. ( 2012 ), “ inequality

mr. george looks at the prospects for the uk economy and developments towards european monetary union speech by the governor of the bank of england, mr. e. a. j. george, at the liverpool and district bankers ’ institute bi - annual dinner in liverpool on 12 / 3 / 97. it is a very enjoyable - and vital - part of our job at the bank of england to keep in touch with what is going on around the country. and we work quite hard at it - through visits like this one ; through our non - executive directors who have business interests in the regions and through our network of regional agents. now the purpose of these contacts is to help us understand the reality behind our precious monetary and economic statistics, and to help us understand what is pre - occupying you. the economic reality i would say is not at all bad. looking back over the longer term, i detect an important change in attitudes in this country : where before people - both employers and employees - tended to look inwards and backwards, seeking to protect what they had had, now, it seems to me, they are increasingly looking outwards and forwards to new opportunities. it is a fundamental change. and over the past four years or so it has been complemented by a more stable macro - economic environment than most of us can remember in our professional life time. putting these together has brought us consistently low inflation ; steady and sustained growth ; and gradually falling unemployment. and interest rates have been lower and less volatile over this period than they have been for more than thirty years. some people, it ’ s true, still say to me that all this has not had much effect on them - it ’ s not like it was in the boom times! and i recognise, of course, that economic conditions do vary across regions and sectors and between individual companies. more than ever before it ’ s a tough competitive world. but what most people say to me these days is that steady growth and low inflation is exactly what they want so that they can make rational, long - term, decisions in their own businesses, which is what enables them to face the global competition. the major preoccupations that i hear are about whether our recent, more stable, economic environment will continue, and about the implications - good or bad - for that environment of a move to a single european currency. let me say a word first about our domestic economic prospects before turning to europe. in fact, mr. chairman, we set out the