Seizing the moment, Antony Elliott, founder of charity FairBanking, is pushing banks to do more to help consumers manage their finances better and has some compelling ideas for product-based solutions.

Two years ago, former banker Antony Elliott began research into how banks could promote better financial awareness among their customers. He was told his efforts would be in vain – that the banks were doing much too well to pay any attention to calls to change their ways.

But his timing was prescient. The fall of Northern Rock and the near-collapse of the entire banking sector last year, combined with frightening levels of private debt and financial ignorance among the public, have made the issue more urgent than Elliott ever imagined.

‘It would be a great pity to waste a good crisis,’ he is fond of saying. FairBanking, the charity Elliott founded, last month released a report in conjunction with the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, with recommendations for banks based on the research.

Reformed sinner

Elliott knows the industry he criticises. Having spent almost 30 years in the sector, including 13 years with Abbey National – 10 as group risk director – he is in a better position than most to analyse the problems affecting UK banks.

‘I think that as a banker you get sucked in to the norm, to the status quo, and for a long time I don’t think I was really aware of quite how inadequate the services were that we were providing,’ he said.

‘It was only when I came to stand back and, particularly, look to see how people were getting into too much debt, that I realised how significant the contribution was that was being played by banks.’

Financial well-being

The research team surveyed 650 people to build a picture of what Elliott calls ‘financial well-being’ (FWB). Though somewhat nebulous-sounding, Elliott said FWB could be quantified and tracked over time, yielding insights into what factors had the greatest impact on individuals.