Brown is right to want to stop repossessions - but what can he do?

Simon Nixon has sympathy with Gordon Brown's attempts to stop newly-nationalised banks from repossessing people's homes. But the sooner house prices find a level where buyers and lenders are willing to enter, the sooner this crisis will pass.

It's hard to think of an industry with a more dismal track record on treating its customers than British banks. Over the last 20 years or so, they've shown themselves to be ruthless, cynical, insensitive and greedy. Whether it be closing down branches and forcing customers to hang on the phone for hours to talk to ignorant and unhelpful call-centre staff; or hard-selling unsuitable and over-priced insurance products; or fleecing unsuspecting customers with hidden and inexplicable account charges; this is an industry that has relied far too much on its customers' inertia, while as we now know running reckless risks with their money.

So I've got some sympathy with Gordon Brown's attempts to stop the banks from booting people out of their homes the moment they run into trouble with their mortgages. In the last house-price slump, banks were heartless. With repossessions up an eye-watering 70% in the second quarter of this year to 11,000, and more than a million people in negative equity, widespread misery at the hands of the banks over the coming year is certain. Brown is right to remind them and the courts that grant repossession orders that repossession should be a last resort.

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Simon Nixon

Simon is the chief leader writer and columnist at The Times and previous to that, he was at The Wall Street Journal for 9 years as the chief European commentator. Simon also wrote for Reuters Breakingviews as the Executive Editor earlier in his career. Simon covers personal finance topics such as property, the economy and other areas for example stockmarkets and funds.