The technological problems at the Ulster Bank, RBS's Northern Irish subsidiary, are still causing problems for its customers. The bank's CEO appeared before the N.I. Assembly today (click here) and David Cameron spoke in Parliament yesterday about the crisis (click here). My concern is that the technological problem is symptomatic of a deeper problem with mismanagement at our major banks, where they no longer care about providing a quality service to their customers. My advice to Ulster Bank customers - transfer your account to another bank! You can read the FSA's advice on moving accounts here.
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.