Bad Banks Exposure of ASB - 12noon, Friday 11 December

ASB ain’t no “Kiwi bank”, protest their •interest gouging •profit taking •tax dodging •union bashing •and for turfing people out of their homes.

12noon, Friday 11 December

Outside ASB Bank,

cnr Queen St and Wellesley St,

Auckland Central.

You will have noticed that the Big Four Aussie-owned banks have been trying to suck up to us lately. BNZ closed their doors for a day so staff could do community work. And ASB, well, they're trying to convince us that they’re a "Kiwi bank". But as John Minto said in his article for the Christchurch Press: "What a brazen lie – like hell it’s a kiwi bank". Because ASB is 100% owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, one of the world's biggest banks.

Why are the banks trying to cuddle up to us? Because ANZ National, BNZ, Westpac and ASB Bank know there's a bad mood rising against them. And it's well deserved, here's a few reasons why people hate the banks:

• Despite the recession they’re continuing to make mega-profits by interest gouging grassroots Kiwis.
• They’re inflicting high fees and penalties on low and middle income people.
• They’re forcing mortgagee sales in increasing numbers.
• They’re hiring teams of lawyers to try and get out of paying $2.25 billion of unpaid tax.
• And in the case of ASB, they’ve used anti-union practices to drive Finsec, the bank workers union, out of ASB branches.

At 12noon on Friday 11 December we’re planning an “exposure” of ASB Bank. We’ll be handing out a leaflet that draws attention to ASB falsely claiming to be a “Kiwi bank”, as well as exposing the other bad things ASB and the rest of the Australian banks are up to.

To download a flyer advertising the action, click here.

Please come along to support this action. Bring your own placards and your grassroots voices. We’ll be inviting the media along, so the more people the better.

Hope to see you there.

Vaughan Gunson
Bad Banks publicity coordinator
svpl@xtra.co.nz
021-0415 082