The Letter.

This is a letter we should all send to our banks. I sent this to my bank about 2 months ago and have had no replies, even after asking them specifically to reply on several occasions. It’s merely a warning shot, but I feel it softens the resolve of ordinary workers within the banking framework.

Bank demand

Dear <bank name, division name>   [Click here for email addresses of SA banks]

I have recently discovered three extraordinary pieces of information about my [credit card / home loan / vehicle finance / personal loan / business loan / overdraft facility].

1. You did not loan me money

Your advertising led me to believe that you “lend” money in the ordinary and everyday sense of the word. However, it turns out that I have been misled. In actual fact, the money you pretended to loan me was created “out of thin air” using a computer generated accounting system. I honestly believed that you were lending me real money which you had rightfully earned as part of your ordinary course of business. You did not tell me the truth up front and I am disturbed by your lack of disclosure and perpetuating what is clearly a false belief in the market.

2. Securitisation

I have learned that, in all likelihood, my promise to make monthly payments (called a promissory note) was on-sold to a third party in a securitisation scheme. I have also learned that in our law, once a promissory note is sold, the bank who sold it loses all their rights and has no legal standing to the asset thereafter. If this is true, then quite possibly you are unlawfully seizing people’s homes, cars, businesses, furniture, equipment, etc.

I am disturbed by the implications of securitisation, which I have now learned forms part of a secret “shadow banking” and derivatives industry which is 20-30 times larger than the GDP of the entire planet. This is outrageous. I did not ask to be responsible for the pension funds of my fellow working class citizens. I do not want to be the “surety” that supports an industry where bankers make hundreds of trillions of dollars. And I had no idea that I was putting small businesses under huge pressure because they cannot compete with large retailers and corporations who sell shop card debt for an immediate lump sum of money.

3. If you can do it, so can I

Your bank is a limited liability corporation. I am a human being of unlimited potential. If it was not for me, you would have no power. Stephen Goodson is a director of the South African Reserve bank and he confirmed publicly that commercial banks create money “out of nothing.” Therefore, I must have this same power as you do. I am currently learning how to apply the Bills of Exchange Act to settle any bank created “debt” with a negotiable instrument instead of using ordinary “debt-money.” Debt-money is not backed by any natural resource. It can only be created when it is borrowed into existence and the interest that is charged on top of that is called usury which is hugely unfair to the vast majority of people. The interest in our money system cannot, and will not ever be paid back.

Now that I have learned the above three points, it would seem that I have immediate power over your institution. I do not have to wait for the next election, committee decision or majority vote.

However, it is not my intention to enforce my rights and cause chaos. You are doing a wonderful job of creating havoc all by yourselves. In fact, it must be said that your bank and the banking industry in general are conducting yourselves in a way that does not create the kind of society that my family and I wish to live in. We can see this first hand in Italy, Greece, Iceland and the US, as well as Ireland, Portugal, Spain and a host of other countries around the world.

In the interests of a better future for this country, I hereby ask you, on this auspicious day of 11.11.11, to please initiate the following policies:

1. I ask you to not to forcibly take money out of a person’s bank account ever again.
2. I ask you to NOT intimidate your customers with threatening or harassing phone calls or SMS messages.
3. If a customer is struggling to repay what you call a “loan,” I ask that you allow them a fair opportunity to negotiate new terms directly with you.
4. To ensure long-term food security for the people of this great country, I ask that you immediately begin planting organic food gardens on every property that you own. This food will be handed out freely to your employees and to any hungry or homeless person that is in need. You will not use any artificial fertilizer, chemicals or genetically modified seeds.
5. [add your own here]

In order to monitor the progress of the above, I ask that you please put up a website that will be updated weekly to publish the following:

1. A searchable list of all court summons that have been served for that week, ensuring that people have ample notice to defend any legal action against them.
2. A facility that will disclose to a customer the full details with any securitisation that occurred on their promissory note.
3. The progress of all changes you have undertaken and implemented to create a better planet and society for mankind and future generations.
4. [add your own here]

I look forward to a future where banks and people work together instead of fighting each other. I look forward to giving people the opportunity to break free of financial slavery. More importantly, I look forward to a future where new and sustainable thinking is embraced and adopted for a better tomorrow.