Banks must serve people - Nzimande

Johannesburg - Banks and the financial sector should serve the people and let go of their "exploitative and parastatic behaviour", SA Communist Party secretary general Blade Nzimande said on Sunday.

"The predators have been doing everything in their capacity to undermine and erode the gains we have achieved, and to find new ways of deepening and subordinating our people to financial-economic exploitation.

"Yes the poor do need access to affordable micro-credit, but not the predatory type of some of our banks and omashonisa [money lenders]," he said in a speech prepared for delivery at the launch of the 2014 Red October Campaign in Durban.

Nzimande said the SACP called on people to use the financial sector campaign as a platform for change in the economy, politics and social lives.

'Highly monopolistic'

He said the banking sector still had a "highly monopolistic nature" and a more diversified banking system was needed.

"In addition, we are facing a multitude of small, plus fly-by-night loan sharks that only impoverish our people," he said.

The SACP would continue to push for the establishment of a state bank and the transformation of the Post Bank to offer more banking services.

"Unlike the private monopoly banking sector which is interested only in profit, the state, co-operatives, and Post banks must prioritise the people, support production and development.

"We need to disrupt the logic of profitability first if we are to build a financial sector for the people," said Nzimande.

He said the struggle against the "ever-rising exorbitant bank charges" and high interest rates would continue.

Production, economic and social transformation and development should be prioritised.

The fight against reckless and unsecured lending practices that "sink our people" should be intensified, he said.

The unsustainable high levels of debt caused many social problems.