Banks are the bane of society, necessary but evil! The managers and board members forget what it is like to be a struggling human, one who lives payday to payday. Oh, they will tell you that it is not a good life, doing that, that you need to have money in the bank to back up your dreams and wishes.

But no matter what country in the world you live in, banks are the ruin of many people, families and businesses. Exorbitant charges, low interest paid on your savings and no interest paid on your checking account, yet banks charge like the old proverbial wounded bull, if you require their services.

Yet you have to ask, who is responsible for the world financial crisis we are experiencing? Easy answer, the Government and Banks! It does not matter if you live in Australia or the United States; banks are the bane of society.

The head of the Commonwealth Bank in Australia, Mr. Norris, makes $A16 million each year, yet, he made the decision (I will say it again..."He made the decision") to raise interest rates well above the government recommendation. Stating that he knows the average household will have a hard time finding the extra money for the new payment schedules, he claims the only way his bank can stay viable is to hurt the little battler.

This Norris guy comes from New Zealand, where he grew up in a housing commission flat, but he seems to forget his upbringing, how his parents must have scrambled to make ends meet. Well good on ya Mr. Norris, for making it in the big city, but shame on you for hurting the people that keep you bank afloat. I can only hope you lose enough customers that you may be forced to take a (heaven forbid) pay cut.

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote, “Commonwealth Bank shocked borrowers by lifting their mortgage rate 45 basis points, almost double the level of the Reserve Bank's 25 basis point increase, last week. The three remaining major Banks in Australia. The ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac have not announced their moves.”