I am happy to share that Bank of Dave 2, a Netflix movie is here and available to stream. In 2023 I enjoyed watching the original movie - Bank of Dave, and share my thoughts about it here. I did not expect they would produce a sequel. Bank of Dave 2 was not a disappointment and I would recommend watching it. If you have seen the original, it may be more interesting and entertaining watching the original movie first. Both are excellent stories and works of art. The movies are mixture of real life events and fiction, or as they call it truish.
The true part of the story is that there is real life British businessman Dave Fishwick and he was about to create a community focused Bank of Dave. In Bank of Dave, Dave takes on another challenge in the world of finance scams. After finding how how payday loan businesses are charging ridiculously high interests and fees, and ruining people's lives, Dave decides to do something about it. From early on it becomes obvious that this task seems to0 big to tackle and may hurt his bank. Once determined, Dave can't stop the fight.
Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen the movie yet, and do not want to read spoiler, please stop here. Feel free to come back to share your thoughts after watching the movie.
Just like the original movie, Bank of Dave 2 is a story of corrupt financial and banking systems, and how these entities work ruin people's lives and communities instead of building communities, and empowering community members.
Even if the movie wasn't based on a true story, it would be a great movie to watch. The original Bank of Dave being based on true story it made it even more interesting. Because the story was educational and inspirational. It was thought provoking about our modern banking systems, the flaws, and what could actually make banks beneficial to people they serve. Banks do not have a great reputation, because of their history and practices that often ends of going against the interests of their customers. What the original movie pointed out was that there was another way, a better way for banks to operate.
The same is true for Bank of Dave 2. This time it exposes the evil nature of payday loan kinds of businesses whose business model hardships their customers face. Normally, people wouldn't go to these loan services unless they in desperate situation. These businesses take advantage of people's difficult situations and give them loans with hopes of indebting them even more. On the surface these short term small loans may seem something useful and beneficial. However, the intentions and business models utilized shows the complete opposite and they seem to behave in an evil manner. There is no win-win situations, it is all win-lose. They win, people lose (a lot). In other words, they are no different than loan sharks. Once Dave finds about this problem, he becomes the Loan Ranger and recruits team to take down these businesses.
In general loans are bad. They hold people back, who otherwise would thrive and prosper. The main culprits in loaning business are the banks. Good business for banks is to give out as many loans as possible and keep collecting easy money, often on free money. Some types of loan make sense, and may even be a smart business. However, only the those in the elite club get to enjoy the benefits of loans, and ordinary people end up with the loans that ruin everything. Take a student loan - what a scam! Look at the credit card loans. Credit cards make money from those who have delinquent payments. They get to charge insane rates like 25%-35%. How is this legal? Those who can't make payments on time already are in difficult financial situations, is increasing what they already owe going to make them pay off faster? It is sad that banks are still allowed to this.
Utilizing the same model of credit cards, payday loans take them to the next level and charge even higher rates and fees. I never used such services, but I knew a person who once found himself in such situations. Something happened in the family, and he wasn't able to make mortgage payment on time. He had to take a payday loan to cover the difference. Of course his intention wasn't to keep this loan for a long term. As the loan name suggest, his plan was to pay it off when he gets the next paycheck. What happens next, this one loan drags on for months, if not years. Now he was in a situation of taking more loans to pay the previous ones with fees. That's crazy! Besides this story, I don't know a lot about this payday loan problem. Bank of Dave 2 exposes this issues and educates us all.
Even Dave didn't know about this problem, until this was brought to his attentions by someone who had bad experience with these loans and was inspired what Dave has done with his bank. After learning more about the problem, Dave gets obsessed with finding a solution to this problem. However, he can't come up with any idea. After extensive research, he invites a journalist from New York who wrote about the payday loans in the US. The journalist, and an activist join Dave's team in this fight against the payday loan businesses. After interviewing many people, they face another obstacle in exposing the truth. Victims of payday loans do not want to testify their story in courts, because they already have difficulties, they aren't interested in complicating things even more.
However, Dave and his team find success in utilizing social media, recording interviews, creating videos and sharing them with the world. Even the matter is taken to the courts, because the opposing side fights back and tries to destroy Bank of Dave with manufactured accusations of money laundering. In the end Dave wins in the court, payday loan businesses exposed, and investigations against them started.
It is not clear how much of this story and Dave's involvement is true. But it does seem like Dave was involved and did have some influence on this matter. Dave continues to impress us. I wouldn't mind watching Bank of Dave 3.
What Dave and his team have done is impressive. Not only Dave has proven that there is much more benefits in community focused efforts. He has shown even banks can be of great benefit if done right. What is the purpose of banks? They are suppose to be lifting up the communities they are present. That has never been their intention, helping people has always been a made up cover story. But Dave has proven, we don't need to rely on these monopolies who have zero interest in the growth of communities and people. But with right intentions, and community support we can build entities like banks that actually serve their communities.
Banks are still too powerful and won't let things like Bank of Dave happen in other places around the world. Hope is bitcoin and crypto will fix this, maybe one day we won't need banks and short term loan entities anymore.