Monster Banks in Yambol

Things have changed in Yambol over the last couple of years. Just three years ago this was quite a sleepy town with little shops, cafes and tucked away restaurants galore. The town had so much character from these quirky and individually styled little businesses that Yambol felt unique in this world of cloned businesses.

It is now 2008, three years on and now in the EU with all the uniformity that comes with it Yambol has changed. Monsters have appeared within its midst and is destroying the very fabric that once gave this town its soul.

What are these monsters? Well there are many forms of monster invading Yambol, 4x4 vehicles, Supermarkets, Tourists but the most prominent by their very nature and the locations you find them are the Banks.

When first arriving here there were probably about three to four banks in the town with maybe two to three cash points solely positioned within the confines of a couple of those banks. What do we find now? Just off the top of my head there must be around 15 Banks at least that have forced their way in the town. The number of cash points I have actually lost count of there are so many and not just at the banks. In small shops, garages, malls everywhere you look you will see cash points popping up like a serious outbreak of measles.

Bank are indeed monsters, evil monsters, they rob off the poor and give to the rich. Their whole principle is to make money like any other business but the way they do it is criminal. In a so-called fair society with democracy in place how can the principle of taking more money of the poor and rewarding the rich be totally accepted?

What we actually do is give banks our money and pay them for that. They get interest off our money and still charge you more on a monthly basis for doing that in Bulgaria. Who is the fool by using these banks?

When opening up a new account a couple of months ago I had to pay them money to do so! Paying them money to give them money! I was angry but the Bulgarians accept all the time that they have to pay for a service.

Paying a utility bill in Bulgaria through a bank is more expensive as you may the money owed then another bill for the bank giving the service. This used to be a choice but now it is common that the only way you can pay bills is through a bank – that is not short of extortion!

Many in Bulgaria have to get loans and credit, no mortgages, as they can no longer afford property due to the poor wages in relation to property prices in the town. The loans are for cars, mobile phones and repairs to homes. Those who need loans by the very nature of needing one are the poorer proportion of Yambol folk. They have to pay interest rates that are higher because of the relative small amounts they have to borrow. Again, this is yet another unfair system in place with the banking systems.

At the other end, if you have big assets the bank gives interest for keeping it in the bank. Who pays for this interest? Quite simply the poor with wads of money from the interest the little loans give them.

So the rise in the number of banks in Yambol is bad business ethics jumping on the bandwagon of extorting the poor.

The other side to banks is that they are sterile building with no character or soul. I used to use a lovely café on the corner in the town centre where sitting out and drinking lemon tea watching people walk past was a wonderful pastime. Suddenly one evening only a few weeks from doing just that, it had been replace by a bank! Another small white goods store, where I used to shop was another disappearing act replace by another bloody bank. There are at least three or four other shops that we use to love using and socialising in that has passed away and a monstrous bank in each case put in its place. How I hate what I see.

Yambol is becoming faceless with the rise of symmetrical characterless banks what makes it worse is they always take up town centre positions and are right in you face! How long and how far can this go on for. They say that progress speeds up as time goes on. More than ten banks built in the last three years, how many more over the next three years then?

Bulgaria’s economy is still very much cash driven but unfortunately this will soon come to an end before we know it. Good news for other Europeans here but such a shame a Yambol and other towns in the country loose their identity in the grips of the EU and Western influences.

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2 comments:

  1. While you are describing Bulgaria, I find some of these same trends disturbing in my part of the world. I believe mega-stores, for instance, definitely have their place, but I don't want to lose the character of the "mom and pop" places where I do business. I bank at a small bank where everyone knows me by name and where I can count on the staff for great financial advice but backed with a personal interest in me. I support other small businesses where I receive superb customer service and honest warmth! And I love family restaurants that are run by real families! These places also lend themselves to the richness of my life and I don't want to lose them!

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  2. Thanks for writing this.

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