People are just not happy with the banks in Spain, and small wonder judging by their track record. Public resentment is becoming heated, so heated that some people have taken to setting fire to bank branches.
Take the most recent case where a 50-year-old man walked into a bank with a 20-litre container of petrol, told the staff to get out if they didn’t want to burn, and then doused the office before setting light to it – he had been displeased with this particular branch.
The Guardia Civil consequently arrested Sr. V.U.G. (Very Upset Gentleman?) after the torching of a branch of the Caja de Burgos in Sotoplacios, Burgos.
As our readers can imagine, he had financial problems with the bank, which appears to have embargoed some of his land. Of course, 20 litres of petrol in an enclosed space caused quite a lot of damage, not only to the office, but to the building. Staff also had to be treated for shock and minor cuts.
All this occurred at 09.20h this morning and by 10.00h the Guardia Civil had arrested Mr Matches at his home, where he had been waiting for them to arrive.
The Manager of the crispy branch has informed his customers that they can conduct their business at another, nearby branch, as the premises is not operative at the moment.
Then we have the case in Cataluña last month of a woman who doused her bank branch of the Catalunya Caixa in Sabadell with alcohol and threatened to set fire to it – one can only hope that it wasn’t whiskey.
The lady walked into the bank at 09.15h on Calle Tres Creus in Vallsana, threatened everybody in the office before dousing the furniture. Fortunately the Catalan regional police, los Mossos d’Esquadra, popped in and arrested her before she could carry out her threat.
But it doesn’t end there because last month also saw another incident of this kind, and again in Sabadell – readers will remember that it was in this town that a man hanged himself moments before the police moved in to evict him from his home, so people are not happy with banks in that area.
This time it was an elderly woman of 72, accompanied by her son-in-law and a container of alcohol again – obviously, the price of petrol is quite high in Cataluña.
Once inside the sweet elderly lady liberally sprinkled the bank manager with this inflammable liquid, as well as office furniture. A bank clerk rapidly phoned the police, who just as rapidly shot round to arrest them.
In recent months, bank staff in general have been on the receiving end of public outrage against the inexcusable actions of the banks, who in two cases have driven people to their deaths. One bank worker complained that several colleagues in other banks have been threatened with knives or guns, but not to rob the bank, but just to demand their own money back, which has been swallowed up by unscrupulous bank behavior; i.e., preferential bonds.
(News: Spain)