These were the top two headlines for the Report on Business Section on the front page of theglobeandmail.com when I checked in after lunch on Tuesday:
- BMO profit rises to $557-million; and
- Number of EI recipients rises in June.
BMO's profits are up 6.9% from a year ago and have more than recovered from a drop that began in the fall. In contrast, there has been a 73% increase in EI recipients over the past year, the largest annual gain since the early 1980s.
Thank God the banks are doing well. I was really worried about them.I know banks are easy targets and the goal in a capitalist society is to increase profits, but to see bank profits rise while more people are on pogie really irks me. Especially given the ridiculous fees banks charge their customers for the right to access their own money. There was a time when banks earned money by lending the money you kept in your account with them. Their profits were based on interest rates. Now banks make money charging you $10 a month for an account plus $1.50 per transaction at ABMs, Interact machines, etc. and even more if you go to the wrong bank.
They used to say there are two guarantees in life; death and taxes. I submit there are three; death, taxes and banks making money.
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We were chatting about banks having record profits over lunch and and basically reiterated what I said in the above blog. A co-worker says "well the bank's profitability and the increase in EI recipients is connected; the banks laid them off."
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