Leader: Is it safer to hide cash under your mattress?

High street banks are having a bit of a tough time of it of late. They have caught flak for making an estimated £4.5bn from customers in penalty charges and the OFT has forced them to reduce the time cheques take to clear. Under our noses, banks have now taken on the responsibility for card fraud reporting - arguably like giving an alcoholic the keys to the liquor cabinet and telling him to look after the whiskey.

Cheat Sheets

♦ Basel II
♦ MiFID
♦ Sarbanes-Oxley

It's hardly surprising then that consumers don't trust their banks very much. There are enough high-profile stories of banks' customer data going astray to question their ability to keep this information away from fraudsters and ID thieves. There is a strong argument for saying banks aren't quite worried enough about security.

It would appear UK high street banks haven't noticed how much more paranoid customers have become about their personal information and the image of old men in grey suits quietly counting customers' money behind firmly closed doors has only fuelled the impression customers have that banks may not necessarily be acting in their best interests.

UK high street banks have to become more transparent in their relationships with consumers, especially in terms of security. The attitude of 'Well, where else are they going to keep their cash, hide it in the mattress?' has allowed them to do as they pleased, with very little control by customers.

This won't hold water when a new entrant, probably from some country with a reputation for openness and a professional demeanour, like Norway or Finland, comes to the market.

The time of hiding from their customers is over for UK high street banks.