I applaud what he's doing but at the end of the day I wouldn't deposit my cash with him because there's no safety net if it all goes tits up which is why he needs the backing of the FSA

I don't think Dave has a unique ability. It should be possible for others to do the role as well. They used to be called Bank Managers and had worked their way up to the position. They were not 22year olds who's previous job was selling shoes.

And what if his business goes down the pan ?
Or he turns out to be less than scrupulous ?

Just because someone runs a business and drives a Ferrari and has a helicopter doesn't necessarily mean they actually have any money .....he's probably a very decent human being with a sackload of dosh but who knows !

You could tell he worked in the motor trade. Going all round the country on trade plates?!

Enjoyed it but wasn’t sure why there was a second program TBH felt like a lot of filler in last night. The whole mobile bank, Vegas/New York, scrap gold bits were TV fluff that now seem obligatory in these ‘campaigning’ documentaries.

Never the less Dave seems like a top bloke and if he really prefers a Transit to a Ferrari I could, begrudgingly, take it off his hands.

I can't remember the exact details, but the programme implied you can't legally run a Savings and Loans type operation without insurance. He had to get the relevant pieces of documentation in place before he could take deposits of any sort.

^^^ This ^^^

And they also "knew" many of their customers - ok, more so the business customers than the personal ones - so over the years they built up a working, practical knowledge of their customers' business, markets and the local/regional area which provided a them with a lot of insight to help them make their decisions. If the bank manager said "no" then you took it on the chin.

Already dropped him a note asking if he's taking deposits from outside East Lancs...

I like knowing it's helping folks.

Would you take on a franchise that is designed to make 0 profit?

The business clearly isn't scalable and I question the long term default rate.


However.

What a brilliant guy!
He has set out to prove a point and has absolutely nailed it.

You can see why he's done so well for himself.

I hope Dave puts his experience into the public domain so that other Daves can replicate the venture in their own towns. As others have said, there is no need for one bank to 'scale up' and go on to become a normal, disinterested national/global chain bank. It would be totally counter-productive. Each town should have its own bank, owned by a local person and run on Dave lines, ie on a very personal level. 'Scaling up' is just another rubbish aspect of modern life that we really need to turn away from. Just because we CAN do something doesn't mean that we SHOULD do it. Car companies have been making this mistake for the last two decades, filling cars with electronic 'features' of dubious or no value, but which are expensive enough to write off a car when they fail.

Normal banks have given too much signoff power to lower level employees. I believe there should be a strict and draconian cap on the size of individual transactions to stop the massively deleterious effect that 'deals gone bad' have on wider society.

I dont remember seeing but who paid for the premises and th mini bus? I bet Dave did.

Internet lending with limited overheads and a huge potential market vs a bricks and motor very local business, it doesn't. Compare.

As i said in my first post. I think he is brilliant, but I think the bank of Dave wouldn't exist without Dave.
He has also personally guaranteed all the investors, can't see others taking on that risk.


It's a great excersize to prove a point, not a business.