Love to be there to carry the flag,when will the ANZ Bank acknowledge the obvious fact we don’t want\need this state destroying industry on the Tamar,will the long arm of John Gray turn out the lights when the last person leaves this state, or will he mumble stuff Tassie all thats left are smoldering ruins.Another prediction that will come true.Any person that agree with Bob,maintain the rage.RJ.

A public relations disaster will have no influence over bank director’s decisions if ‘shareholder benefit’ isn’t threatened. How many accounts, worth how much capital, would need to be closed before they were actually influenced is a piece of their internal accounting I’d love to have a look at. And I’ll bet a logging truck to a toothpick they’ve done that calculation already.

EMRS Pulp Mill Research Report prepared for Tasmanians Against the Pulpmill. The poll was conducted between the 20th and 28th March 2008. 1000 householders were interviewed by Telephone: 500 from the South, 280 from the North and North East and 220 from the North West and West.

Question 5. Are you in favour of or against the ANZ bank funding the pulp mill?

45% of respondents were “against” the ANZ funding the mill. 29% were in “favour” and 26% had “no opinion”.

Figures adjusted to exclude the “no opinion” respondents gives a result of 61% “against” the the ANZ bank funding the pulp mill and 39% “in favour”.

You might be surprised, Didmord (#2) to learn that the ANZ has been offering cash incentives to people going in to close accounts and citing the pulp mill issue as the reason. Why would they do that unless they are already feeling the effects of people closing down accounts?

In a special update to investors this morning (8/4), the ANZ Bank dramatically widened its provisions for bad debt from $567 million to $975 million in the full year.

Better make that 2 billion, Mr Smith, if you decide to take a punt on the Tamar white elephant.

In response to Dismord, how does one explain this incident?

At the rally outside ANZ in Brisbane St. Launceston, attended by 220 people, a person related this story. Two weeks previously she had gone to the ANZ to close her account citing as the reason the bank’s involvement with Gunns as the potential financier of the pulp mill. She was offered $150 by the bank not to close her account. She closed it anyway.

Admittedly she may have had a bigger account than you or I Dismord but it is interesting is it not?

Furthermore, you presume banks make rational decisions with a cold eye on the bottom line and with a view to maximizing shareholder’s profits. I see no evidence of that in the whole Opes Prime and Tricom debacles essentially precipitated by reckless ANZ lending and fantasy accounting practises.

Having suffered a big hit in loan write-downs the ANZ would be more aware than any outside commentators that it has shown itself for the whole world to see as more than capable of making disastrous judgements.

I would contend that the hit ANZ could take if it decides to fund the pulp mill is incalculable - anything from a few thousand people closing their accounts to a genuine “run on the bank”. The ANZ does not, nor do we who intend to mount the campaign nationally and internationally, know how potent the backlash might be.

Is the risk worth the gamble? Because, as with many decisions and practises of modern financial institutions, it is the gambler’s mind state at play not the presumably cool workings of the rational mind.

We know, as Tim Cox of ABC radio stated vehemently on air
(April 7), that “banks are bastards”. Well, the people can play the “bastard game” against the banks and it would be a foolish bank which chose to ignore the potentially winning hand the bastard people may play.

And so to Peter Henning who correctly stated on Tasmanian Times that an appeal to a bank’s better principles, enshrined in such instruments as the Equator Principle, is a waste of time. It is a waste of time Peter if that appeal is predicated on a naive expectation that such appeals will elicit a civilized and wholly rational response from the bank. We know banks don’t do that. That appeal, Peter, is a carrot, or more precisely, a face saving way out for the ANZ bank because at the same time the ANZ bank will have been made aware that here in the back rooms the bank customers are buffing up the baseball bats.

Banks are not invulnerable. It is naive to imagine they are.

“Is the risk worth the gamble? Because, as with many decisions and practises of modern financial institutions, it is the gambler’s mind state at play not the presumably cool workings of the rational mind.” Posted by Bob McMahon
Yes indeed Bob but couldn’t such irrationalism also be operating in ANZ directors minds when they try & figure out if they can escape with their so called performance bonuses intact before the implications of lending to Gunns devastates their bottom line? I’d also like to know if the reported bribe of $150 for not closing accounts is being offered to anyone intending to do so and not just those who announce their withdrawal is due to ANZ getting into bed with Mr Gay. Whatever is going on I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the next ANZ directors meeting.

I find it all quite sad. I’ve been a ANZ customer for the last fifteen years or so. Prior to that I was with the R&I;(WA). I left the R&I;for the simple reason that they bounced a cheque of mine for no reason other than they’d stuffed up. They apologised profusely verbally but refused to put anything in writing ( bearing in mind I’d a pissed off supplier to pacify). In contrast, when the positions were reversed and a client bounced a cheque on me, I had the manager of the ANZ branch concerned on the phone to me with explantations and apologies galore.
Fair enough I said, ANZ here I come. Until recently I’ve been happy with that decision. Along comes the pulp mill…. What is wrong with this bank all of a sudden? I understand that banks run a PR con-job most of the time, but they seem to have got this one seriously wrong. No doubt a $2 billion loan sounds great but have they really figured how much it’ll cost them. I’m very much on the small end but even at my single employee level of business there’s half a million of turnover and a bit more of mortgage walking away. Chuck in all the other Tamar Valley residents and sympathisers and it soon adds up. Some may not act now but I’m sure once the first pongs waft through the window   they’ll know who to blame. I have no doubt that they’ll be plenty of people happy to point out the culprits!

I just don,t get it, i missed the last T.A.P meeting and i knew that the A.N.Z thing was on sometime ! and the next thing i knew it was over.

    Now! O.K. we had 10,000 people at the big rally!  didn’t the organisers of this one think it was important enough to advertise what was in the pipeline ? and let it grow a life of it,s own over say ,a month or so !  after all !  it wasn’t as though it had to be held immediately as some of those witnessing the event have said , “interest must be waning as there were only a couple of hundred there” , and perceptions such as that do the cause more harm ! than good ! 
   
      Now ! before i get accused once again of putting down the efforts of others or in this case T.A.P.,  put internal politics aside and open the forum to all ideas with total emphasis in getting the absolute best result from our efforts as this thing is much to important to be stymied by token gesture’s ! there should have been 2—3 thousand bodies at that event ! and there wasn’t !  why ?
       
        Does anyone disagree !
                      d.d

If a financial institution considers the mill investment a viable proposition it will fund the project. Closing accounts and railing against the bank will mean nothing other than harrassment to the poor kid on the other side of the counter.

By all means close your ANZ accounts if you’re offended but the threat of changing banks has never worried the institutions. There’s no loyalty in banks or customers these days.

The figure of 10,000 ANZ accounts threatened to be closed has been offered up by the ANZ as the number at which they would need to seriously reconsider their options in regard to funding the pulp mill.

Also, ANZ are returning peoples calls to listen to their concerns,  Please call them to let them know how you feel, and that you perhaps would consider withdrawing your support of the bank should they fund this mill.

Call Gerard Browns office on (03) 9273 4991