BATTLE YOUR BANK--AND WIN!

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 1984

Dated outrage and dubious countermeasures. Ex-bank president Mrkvicka whales away at banking's maltreatment of retail customers with scarcely a hint that old-line institutions are being overtaken by events (notably the alternatives opened up by deregulation), and not a mention of such technological advances as automated teller machines. Worse, the defensive ploys he recommends are at least as sleazy as the offensive practices he claims to deplore. Thus, Mrkvicka suggests exaggerating unverifiable cash reserves on financial statements and requesting signature loans from as many as half a dozen banks in a single day--the latter, to avoid having to list additional obligations on a single credit application. To become a preferred patron (entitled to overdraft privileges, no-charge checking, etc.), he advises: walk in on the president; then allude vaguely to fictive directorial associates; intimate that sizable sums will shortly be available for deposit; and open a ""small"" account with $5,000 or so in cash. The unfortunate effect of Mrkvicka's shrill, relentless indictment is that legitimate consumer concerns--long delays in clearing check deposits, failure to make advance disclosure of new fees, insistence on collateral without an offsetting reduction of interest charges, etc.--get lost in a very fast shuffle. An appreciably better book by an apostate insider is All You Need to Know About Banks (1983), by John A. Cook and Robert Wool.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION