Steve Conley

Founder @AoLP | Restoring human agency in finance | Plan life first, then money | AI + Total Wealth Planning | Empowering people to think & act independently.

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

📢 We are pleased to share a press statement regarding an important new project that the APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services has embarked on.

It’s about looking into the City of London Corporation; and very importantly it’s about inviting you to have your say, via a short and simple survey.

The project examines whether the City of London Corporation should be drastically reformed or even abolished altogether. Perhaps reform or abolition could lead to a significant reshaping of our financial services landscape, for all the good reasons given in the statement.

This initiative is being led by Green Party member of the House of Lords Natalie Bennett @natalieben .

And if you do want to take the opportunity to have your voice heard please complete the online survey, which is available for you here; 👇

https://t.co/iGJe7zQIyL

we won’t be publishing respondents; email addresses or names, so please do take this opportunity to share what you think.

Why is this issue so relevant to TTF members?

Because the project is all about exploring whether the City of London Corporation is as fair, democratic and transparent as it should be; and as you may already know the City of London Corporation has a significant degree of influence over how the financial industry is run - the press statement explains the ‘interesting’ role of the City Remembrancer, whose job is to influence financial services legislation.

The full statement is available for you here 👇

https://t.co/EdNH72kzPu

[Steve Conley @WharfWizard]

Vital moment. This has moved beyond complaints to constitutional accountability.“Good faith” isn’t enough—what matters is action.If Government engages transparently and acts on the evidence, this could be a turning point.Will this now be recognised as a systemic issue?

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

It's fantastic that Parliament News [@ParlMagazine] has picked up on the importance of the debate that @johnmcdonnellMP led in Parliament last week on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the Role of @TheFCA;" and that John has articulated in such a clear and compelling way what now needs to happen, and why.

For me personally, this is the most powerful part of John's commentry....

The Path Forward
The forthcoming meeting with City Minister Lucy Rigby [@LucyRigby] offers an opportunity to place evidence directly before Government. It should be approached in good faith – but good faith is not enough. What matters is whether the Government will accept the constitutional implications of what Parliament has now heard and is on the record, act correctly, in keeping with the Seven Principles of Public Life.

...but every word is well worth reading.

You can get to the full article through the link below.

- What do you think about what @johnmcdonnellMP states?

- What do you think @LucyRigby should do?

https://t.co/gmzuOEI61Y

@Steffanaquarone @IanByrneMP @AndyMcDonaldMP @JoeMorrisMP @BambosMP @LibDemDavid @NeilForPoole @JimShannonMP
@alexsobel @amcarmichaelMP @natalieben @SharonBowlesUK @BaronessKramer @becky_gittins @BobBlackman @CliveJonesMP @labourlewis @libdemdaisy @danny__kruger @helenmorganmp @LordJohnMann @premnsikka @BlaenauGwentMP @RuthNewportWest @SarahCoombesWB @SarahGreenLD @sarahjolney1 @Siobhain_Mc @SuellaBraverman @mpsusanmurray @ToniaAntoniazzi

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are all very grateful to @johnmcdonnellMP, Chair of @appgonifandffs for leading the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" so effectively in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch John’s speech here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is a detailed report about the issues by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 for you here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are all very grateful to @JimShannonMP for contributing so helpfully to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch Jim’s speech here:
https://t.co/n7riOVLP5A

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is a detailed report about the issues by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @NeilForPoole for contributing so helpfully and impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch Neil’s speech here:
https://t.co/uvT7egHURg

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is a detailed report about the issues raised by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @LibDemDavid for contributing so impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch David’s speech here:
https://t.co/RCWAVx4Gp8

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is a detailed report about the issues covered in the debate by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @BambosMP for contributing so impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch Bambos’ speech here:
https://t.co/aC0Qptvk9a

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is a detailed report about the issues by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @JoeMorrisMP for contributing so impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch Joe’s speech here: https://t.co/ooDXnxHzNx

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is an excellent report about the issues covered in the debate by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @AndyMcDonaldMP for contributing so impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

You can watch Andy’s speech here: https://t.co/YNA2OsN7wc

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is an excellent report about the issues covered in the debate by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @IanByrneMP for contributing so impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

Ian’s speech is notable for the passionate and compelling way in which he speaks up for the need for the Hillsborough Law @NowHillsborough and the case of Andrew Candy of @CarshaltonArt, one of the many businesspeople whose life was turned upside down through egregious banking misconduct and catastrophic regulatory failure by @TheFCA.

You can watch Ian’s speech here: https://t.co/ycCLSummU9;

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is an excellent report about the issues covered in the debate by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

We are very grateful to @Steffanaquarone for contributing so impressively to the debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the role of @TheFCA" that took place in Parliament yesterday.

Steff’s speech is notable for the compelling way in which he speaks up for his North Norfolk constituent Mark Wright of @BankConfidenti1 – Mark is a whistleblower who reported egregious banking misconduct and regulatory failure.

You can watch Ian’s speech here: https://t.co/RbZ3h2Wk2v

You can watch the debate in full here:
https://t.co/spPmqzLxrm

And there is an excellent report about the issues covered in the debate by the bank staff whistleblower service @BankConfidenti1 here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

[@PropertyJedi @PropertyJedi]

@stevemiddi1 @NuaGRGVictim @paulpygmy02 @TransparencyTF @CarshaltonArt @efgbricklayer @LucyRigby @johnmcdonnellMP @normanlamb @hmtreasury @TheFCA Really really appreciate this and your professionalism.. I’m supposed to be a professional but under the circumstances I struggle.. I also truly appreciate your devotion to the challenge.. Sadly my anger takes over.. Please keep doing what you are doing.. Thank you 🙏

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

Hi all, if you want to understand what the term "RIPPING SOMEONE'S FACE OFF" means and why it is hyper relevant to the debate in Parliament on Tuesday morning, watch Episode 4 of "Money, Wall Street and Power" which is available for you free to see on You Tube.

Here are some extracts:

"...traders are incentivised to get the deals done even if it's at the customer's expense. It was phrased 'RIPPING SOMEONES FACE OFF that was used on the trading floor to describe when you sold something to a client who didn't understand it and you were able to extract a massive fee because they didn't understand it and the idea was that this was a good thing because what you were doing was making more money for the bank...

...to maximise profits banks want to do business where there is less regulation...

...beginning in the 90s many American banks found London...

...the key risk taking activities were in London - they were outside the purview of American regulators - hundreds of young bankers moved here from Wall Street to pursue careers in derivative trading as the economy boomed...

...teams of investment bankers hit the road; they are called investment bankers but they were effectively salesman - their job is to go out and sell the stuff that bank is creating just in the same way a pharmaceuticals company would have a very large salesforce who go around selling their latest version of whatever the particular drug of the moment is...

...the bankers will find the type of client that doesn't understand the product in order to sell the product that the client shouldn't be buying..."

Episode 4 is available for you here:
https://t.co/TyBIWYVVNG

But if you have time to watch them before 9:30am on Tuesday 14th April, I'd suggest watching all four episodes, particularly episode 1 because it does a great job of explaining the history and development of derivatives and how they were used by banks as 'weaponised opacity' (my phrase); and episode 4 because it explains what was going on in the UK that led banks to want to sell what was in effect financial poison disguised as wine to their business owner customers.

Here they all are in order:

Episode 1: https://t.co/dnHWvhyJSj
Episode 2: https://t.co/QWSac7GwZm
Episode 3: https://t.co/RI3ECaE4bN
Episode 4: https://t.co/TyBIWYVVNG

All in all, this excellent documentary series does a great job of explaining the underlying incentives and regulatory dynamic that has been at play, in particular it helps explain:

1) What banks in the UK did (cheat and steal)
2) Who they did it to (owners of SMEs)
3) Why they did it (money)

Please do watch this remarkably informative and highly relevant documentary series and share what you think.

All the details needed for Tuesday morning's debate in Parliament being led by @johnmcdonnellMP are available for you at Item 1 in this week's Transparency Times, see here: https://t.co/pApan2AO6T

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

Ahead of Tuesday's groundbreaking debate being led by @johnmcdonnellMP, Chair of @appgonifandffs, there is an excellent opportunity to fully understand the underlying issues at the heart of the scandal that Tuesday's debate on "Hidden Credit Liabilities and the Role of @TheFCA" will help to expose.

Put simply, you should invest the time to properly read the report by @BankConfidenti1 because it provides a highly detailed and very well researched body of evidence that tells you all you need to know about:

1) What the banks did (cheat their business owner customers and then steal from them)
2) Why they did it (money)
3) Who they did to to (SMEs, the backbone of the UK economy)

To my mind, it's completely unsurprising that growth in the UK economy has flatlined for decades, because we have a whole generation of business owners who no longer have the thriving businesses they once owned, and know the banks can't be trusted.

And in many ways, even worse than the conduct of the banks has been the conduct of @TheFCA (and before it the FSA). In short, the conduct regulators have responded to evidence of serious fraud with what could most politely be described as 'wilful blindness' - so much so that all these years later the innocent victims have still not had the justice and redress they deserve.

As a result, many entrepreneurs have lost their livelihoods, businesses, homes, wellbeing and in some particularly sad cases they have even lost the will to live - literally.

If you doubt anything I am stating go ahead and read the @BankConfidenti1 report, it is available for you here: https://t.co/AJP9JVk9fD

Please do invest the time to study that report ahead of the debate on Tuesday 14th January at 9:30AM; be that in person in the public gallery of Westminster Hall (I'll see you there) or through Parliament TV.

Best wishes to all the MPs speaking up for their harmed constituents.

And best wishes too to all who have helped to bring about the debate - it's been a significant step forward toward justice.

The big question now of course is whether the responding Minister (quite possibly @LucyRigby, MP for Northampton North and the Economic Secretary to @hmtreasury) decides to protect the banks and the regulator, or the citizens they have harmed.

For a quick overview of what's at stake watch this: https://t.co/L6OeWDej6R

[OCGLeaks @OCGLeaksUK]

Yesterday I found my friend, Glenn Cottingham Smith, after he had taken his own life.

Glenn was the former owner of Qbitus Products Limited and Venue 73 in Brighouse. He was not a weak man,he was someone who had been worn down over time.

For years, Glenn maintained that he had been the victim of a confidence scam involving the serial con man Michael Knighton and others. He believed his businesses had been taken from him and that he had been financially and reputationally devastated as a result.

He reported matters to the police (they did nothing). He approached regulators (they did nothing). He tried to be heard.

He wasn’t.

Instead, he was left to carry the consequences alone, while continuing to fight to have his case properly examined.

I had been helping Glenn pursue this, and we had finally secured a hearing in the High Court in London this June.

Yesterday, before that could happen, he ended his life.

Male suicide is too often spoken about in isolation. In reality, it is often the end point of sustained pressurefinancial ruin, betrayal, isolation, and the experience of not being believed.

Glenn’s story is not unique. That is the problem.

He was my friend. He deserved to be heard.

For anyone who thinks his death brings this matter to an end, it does not. The case will go ahead. The issues will be examined. And I will continue to pursue the truth and clear his name.

RIP Glenn Cottingham Smith.

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

https://t.co/m3CwXqDtau

[Transparency Task Force @TransparencyTF]

IMPORTANT! PLEASE WATCH THIS!

The clip below takes you to an important interaction in the @UKHouseofLords just now, where Lord @premnsikka rightly expresses his frustration at how unacceptably long it is taking for the Dobbs Review into @LloydsBank's handling of the HBOS scandal to be published; and his understandable concerns that when it is finally published it may be heavily redacted.

Fortunately, several other Peers express support for his sentiments including Baroness Kramer @BaronessKramer and Baroness Neville-Rolfe - @LNevilleRolfe, Lord Tyrie, Lord Davies of Brixton and others.

What do you think of the points they all raised?

Would publishing a redacted version be a cover up?

What do you think of the responses given by Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore @SpenceLivermore ?

And what do you think of the conduct of @LloydsBank and @TheFCA in relation to this whole scandal?

Also, thank goodness for the incredible work of @StansfeldPCC and his colleagues without whom the bad bankers would not have been prosecuted.

HERE'S THE CLIP TO WATCH: https://t.co/262YyNy8d8

@TransparencyTF has also been speaking out abut this issue. Please see our letter to @Meg_HillierMP, Chair of @CommonsTreasury here https://t.co/IgMbQzIHA8 and the response we received from Dame Meg here https://t.co/P1ZQk7Vkag

@johnmcdonnellMP @SharonBowlesUK @LordKirkhope @LordJohnMann @SarahLudford @natalieben @simon_haskel @BankConfidenti1 @Carlier_J87 @appgonifandffs @IFSAPPG @taxinparliament @APPGpensionscam @APPGMortgage @IFSAPPG @kevinhollinrake @vincecable @jameshurley @AndyMcDonaldMP @IanByrneMP @ianhtyler @andyverity @EmilyBuchanan1