I feel very sorry for people who have been swindled. The culprits of this scam / rip-off must be identified and brought to justice and theses defrauded people must be given their money back. But not all Spanish banks acted like that and in the school you should be taught that when it comes to money and health you can trust nobody. You have to do a lot of research, study the situation, consider the pros and cons and act consistently /kən’sɪstəntlɪ/. They shouldn’t shrug off the fact that if this product were so good it would sell itself, there would be no need for the director to call anybody because there would be people queuing for it. Having your money in a savings account with a low interest rate may not make up for the rise / increase in the cost of living. Your savings might be losing value in return of security but I think that it’s worth it. The “very good product” doesn’t exist: the more you gain, the more you risk. defraud [dɪ’frɔ:d] VT estafar, defraudar
Note: I typewrote all the subtitles and the statement of the lawyer speaking in English. They are in the replay to this comment.
IPREFERRED by Almudena Toral & Suzanne Daley. July 2013 (Preferred [prɪ’f3:d] = preferido, privilegiado) In Spain, the government has known how to save banks, but not how to save people.
Daughter: My parents have always told me your own sweat is the base of your future. Father: Savings help you to not fear life. Mother: All my effort has been stolen.
This is the biggest scam ([skæm] estafa) that has taken place in the financial sector in our young democracy. The Camaño family is one of 300,000 who have lost most of their savings to the preferential shares scandal. ([‘skændl] escándalo)
Demonstrators: Bankia steals and the government supports it! Father (Tomás Camaño, 64): I worked 28 years in an upholstery [ʌp’həʊlstərɪ] shop (tapicería) and 18 years as a doorman in Caja Madrid (a bank). We had saved 35,000 euros. Daughter (Alicia Camaño, 27): I’ve been working since I was 16, as a jeweller (jeweler US [‘dʒu:ələr]). I’ve managed to save 47,000 euros. Mother (Enriqueta Brazalez, 54): The director of the bank (branch) called us. He was an acquaintance of my brother-in-law. And he told us there was a very good product that they’d give us a very good interest rate. This they told me was ‘preferentes’. For preferred clients (of the bank). It had no risk and that it was like a fixed deposit (plazo fijo). Sign here. They handed us all the contracts and said ‘Don’t worry about all this paperwork (papeleo). It’s just a bank formality (puro trámite).’ Daughter: I trusted the woman who sold me the ‘preferentes’ like a doctor when they prescribe you a medicine. Well, she prescribed me the ‘preferentes’. Customers: - Do you come to get your money? - Yes! - It’s open - So I enter! We enter!
They invested at the height (peek / summit) of the financial crisis when struggling banks were trying to dig themselves out of a hole with this investment product.
Demonstrators: We have our money now!
Miguel Durán (Lawyer, defends 1,800 victims including the Camaño family): The ‘preferentes’ are a complex financial product that should have only been sold to professional investors. But Spanish banks sold them to small savers without them knowing that they were making them pure shareholders of the banks.
Father: In 2011, we were watching television Mother: And I was at the static bicycle and suddenly I hear in TV “toxic preferential shares” and those who had put their money were gonna lose it. Tomás! Turn up the volume. I can’t hear. Father: We were shocked. We said, “We have this!” Mother: The next day we go to the bank. Hey, what’s happening with this? Don’t pay attention to what the TV says. You’ll have your money in a month. Week after week, the same.
Some banks, including theirs, were bailed out by the European Union (rescatados por la UE). ‘Preferentistas’ lost 38 percent of their money. In May, they lost even more when their crumbling banks were restructured and share prices fell. (crumbling = desmoronados, arruinados) Many people are starting to sue for fraud.
Father: We’re gonna go to court because as of today (a día de hoy) we’ve lost almost all our money, 80%. Now the three of us live at home surviving on one salary, mine, my retirement pension. My wife doesn’t have a job because of the crisis. And my daughter is also unemployed because her company cut on personnel.
Mother: Since the ‘preferentes’ problem started my life has changed. Even just because of the pills I take. I’m in psychological treatment of depression, and to sleep. Father: I see her like that and I want to cheer her up, but …But I don’t know, sometimes we’re both depressed. Daughter: Coming back to live with my parents hasn’t been bad. But when you’ve been independent for 2 years, and coming back is hard. We’re at a very delicate moment of our lives. And you see them in the mornings, fighting, going to the demonstrations, is really hard. Demonstrators: Hands up! This is a robbery!
Javier Cremades Lawyer: If the system doesn’t respond to this people the damage is going to be very deep. The problem is trust, it’s all about trust. Today there’s a strong lack of confidence [‘kɒnfɪdəns] of people and the institutions. (But according with WordReference the correct preposition is “in”: “confidence in”)
Demonstrators: Where’s our money? Daughter: I’ve been taught since I was a kid that sacrifice and effort is what brigs benefit. And I’m going to keep on fighting for (the money of) my kids, for my own, and for so many elderly people who cannot take it out in the streets (salir a protestar a la calle).
I totally agree with your sentence "They shouldn’t shrug off the fact that if this product were so good it would sell itself". It would appear that in economic good times, everybody trust on everybody and reading the small print of a contract was an old-fashioned task. I hope we´ve learned at least something with this for the future and all the victims get their money back.
I feel very sorry for people who have been swindled. The culprits of this scam / rip-off must be identified and brought to justice and theses defrauded people must be given their money back. But not all Spanish banks acted like that and in the school you should be taught that when it comes to money and health you can trust nobody. You have to do a lot of research, study the situation, consider the pros and cons and act consistently /kən’sɪstəntlɪ/.
ReplyDeleteThey shouldn’t shrug off the fact that if this product were so good it would sell itself, there would be no need for the director to call anybody because there would be people queuing for it. Having your money in a savings account with a low interest rate may not make up for the rise / increase in the cost of living. Your savings might be losing value in return of security but I think that it’s worth it. The “very good product” doesn’t exist: the more you gain, the more you risk.
defraud [dɪ’frɔ:d] VT estafar, defraudar
Note: I typewrote all the subtitles and the statement of the lawyer speaking in English. They are in the replay to this comment.
IPREFERRED by Almudena Toral & Suzanne Daley. July 2013
Delete(Preferred [prɪ’f3:d] = preferido, privilegiado)
In Spain, the government has known how to save banks, but not how to save people.
Daughter: My parents have always told me your own sweat is the base of your future.
Father: Savings help you to not fear life.
Mother: All my effort has been stolen.
This is the biggest scam ([skæm] estafa) that has taken place in the financial sector in our young democracy.
The Camaño family is one of 300,000 who have lost most of their savings to the preferential shares scandal. ([‘skændl] escándalo)
Demonstrators: Bankia steals and the government supports it!
Father (Tomás Camaño, 64): I worked 28 years in an upholstery [ʌp’həʊlstərɪ] shop (tapicería) and 18 years as a doorman in Caja Madrid (a bank). We had saved 35,000 euros.
Daughter (Alicia Camaño, 27): I’ve been working since I was 16, as a jeweller (jeweler US [‘dʒu:ələr]). I’ve managed to save 47,000 euros.
Mother (Enriqueta Brazalez, 54): The director of the bank (branch) called us. He was an acquaintance of my brother-in-law. And he told us there was a very good product that they’d give us a very good interest rate. This they told me was ‘preferentes’. For preferred clients (of the bank). It had no risk and that it was like a fixed deposit (plazo fijo). Sign here. They handed us all the contracts and said ‘Don’t worry about all this paperwork (papeleo). It’s just a bank formality (puro trámite).’
Daughter: I trusted the woman who sold me the ‘preferentes’ like a doctor when they prescribe you a medicine. Well, she prescribed me the ‘preferentes’.
Customers:
- Do you come to get your money?
- Yes!
- It’s open
- So I enter! We enter!
They invested at the height (peek / summit) of the financial crisis when struggling banks were trying to dig themselves out of a hole with this investment product.
Demonstrators: We have our money now!
Miguel Durán (Lawyer, defends 1,800 victims including the Camaño family): The ‘preferentes’ are a complex financial product that should have only been sold to professional investors. But Spanish banks sold them to small savers without them knowing that they were making them pure shareholders of the banks.
Father: In 2011, we were watching television
Mother: And I was at the static bicycle and suddenly I hear in TV “toxic preferential shares” and those who had put their money were gonna lose it. Tomás! Turn up the volume. I can’t hear.
Father: We were shocked. We said, “We have this!”
Mother: The next day we go to the bank. Hey, what’s happening with this? Don’t pay attention to what the TV says. You’ll have your money in a month. Week after week, the same.
Some banks, including theirs, were bailed out by the European Union (rescatados por la UE). ‘Preferentistas’ lost 38 percent of their money. In May, they lost even more when their crumbling banks were restructured and share prices fell. (crumbling = desmoronados, arruinados)
Many people are starting to sue for fraud.
Father: We’re gonna go to court because as of today (a día de hoy) we’ve lost almost all our money, 80%. Now the three of us live at home surviving on one salary, mine, my retirement pension. My wife doesn’t have a job because of the crisis. And my daughter is also unemployed because her company cut on personnel.
Note: It continues in the next replay
Mother: Since the ‘preferentes’ problem started my life has changed. Even just because of the pills I take. I’m in psychological treatment of depression, and to sleep.
DeleteFather: I see her like that and I want to cheer her up, but …But I don’t know, sometimes we’re both depressed.
Daughter: Coming back to live with my parents hasn’t been bad. But when you’ve been independent for 2 years, and coming back is hard. We’re at a very delicate moment of our lives. And you see them in the mornings, fighting, going to the demonstrations, is really hard.
Demonstrators: Hands up! This is a robbery!
Javier Cremades Lawyer: If the system doesn’t respond to this people the damage is going to be very deep. The problem is trust, it’s all about trust. Today there’s a strong lack of confidence [‘kɒnfɪdəns] of people and the institutions. (But according with WordReference the correct preposition is “in”: “confidence in”)
Demonstrators: Where’s our money?
Daughter: I’ve been taught since I was a kid that sacrifice and effort is what brigs benefit. And I’m going to keep on fighting for (the money of) my kids, for my own, and for so many elderly people who cannot take it out in the streets (salir a protestar a la calle).
Thanks again, as usual, Marilé, for your effort and for sharing their result so generously!
DeleteI totally agree with your sentence "They shouldn’t shrug off the fact that if this product were so good it would sell itself". It would appear that in economic good times, everybody trust on everybody and reading the small print of a contract was an old-fashioned task. I hope we´ve learned at least something with this for the future and all the victims get their money back.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Patricia, for sharing your views with us!
Delete