TSB boss Paul Pester to step down after IT fiasco(bbc.com)
bbc.com
TSB boss Paul Pester to step down after IT fiasco
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45406322
37 comments
If nothing else, that saga gave us the perfect case study in what can go wrong with total cut-over migrations, rather than incremental releases, in complex systems
His first Treasury Committee appearance earlier in the year was very telling, in completely in denial about the extent of the problems, or issues/fears of their customers without even a hint of apology - I moved my banking elsewhere.
Fix the issue then resign. Take responsibility not compensation.
All of the 'big' UK banks are still on similar out dated technologies as TSB was, they were the first to try to move and it hasn't paid off. I hope the other major banks
a) do it better
b) don't use it as an excuse never to do it
Which is why I switched to Monzo. Their tech is so much better and is constantly being improved.
No reason not to switch really (unless you really, really need to deposit cash)
No reason not to switch really (unless you really, really need to deposit cash)
Revolut and Monzo have way more outages but are small enough to not draw the ire of regulators. You are living in a fantasy land if you think they operate with less risk than a major bank
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When did Monzo last have an outage? I get them with Curve and Starling, but they use GPS for their payment processing. Monzo have built their own from the ground up.
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I've got a Monzo account, which I'm a big fan of. However, Monzo have definitely had more outages and planned maintenance than the other online banking service I use, which is provided by a different UK bank. I'd consider that a reason not to make the jump.
This was true before they launched their own payment processing.
They often had outages in late 2017 and earlier due to 3rd party reliability.
I haven't had an outage since the current accounts have been released.
No affiliation; just a user since Beta.
They often had outages in late 2017 and earlier due to 3rd party reliability.
I haven't had an outage since the current accounts have been released.
No affiliation; just a user since Beta.
Other banks and stuff have outages. Monzo just bothers to tell you about issues.
Also the longest outage I remember was when the third party card processor's server broke and it took them a few days to rebuilt it (which is pretty unnaceptable in this day and age)
Also the longest outage I remember was when the third party card processor's server broke and it took them a few days to rebuilt it (which is pretty unnaceptable in this day and age)
Is that after they left beta? I noticed quite a few outages, but that was while they still had the big beta disclaimer on things. I've not had any trouble since.
This wasn't an attempt at IT modernization. TSB had to migrate to a different system following their split from Lloyds.
Well, they didn't "have" to, it's just the Spanish parent bank didn't want to pay a competitor £100m a year to use their software system and mandated TSB move to their amazing, all new, all singing, all dancing, software platform.
Quite why that means the UK head needs to go ....
Quite why that means the UK head needs to go ....
Because he was the happy face of the whole desaster. Claiming publicly how all was fine with very few account holders still having slight problems and repeating this lie ad-nauseum while 100'000s of customers couldn't access their accounts, couldn't make payment and didn't receive any help, whatsoever, from Mr. Pester.
Except lies and bullshit on a massive scale for weeks.
MEPs were also not impressed by his performance.[1]
[1] https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z...
Except lies and bullshit on a massive scale for weeks.
MEPs were also not impressed by his performance.[1]
[1] https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z...
Unfortunately we don't know if he was ordered to make those statements by the parent bank, or if he was inept.
It smacks to me of a symbolic "firing" to placate the tabloids in the UK, who hold far too much sway with the average person on the street.
It smacks to me of a symbolic "firing" to placate the tabloids in the UK, who hold far too much sway with the average person on the street.
The two cases are totally compatible.
Obviously if they were force to move they'd go to a new fangled IT system, not adopt some old tried and true system (those are too tied to the banks that developed them).
Obviously if they were force to move they'd go to a new fangled IT system, not adopt some old tried and true system (those are too tied to the banks that developed them).
Yes, the more they wait to migrate, the more painful it will be
And of course expect the usual dissing by the 'frameheads on how these new systems are frail and how their old systems "are much better and foolproof" (they aren't)
And of course expect the usual dissing by the 'frameheads on how these new systems are frail and how their old systems "are much better and foolproof" (they aren't)
I'm rooting for c) new banks arrive with new tech stacks and completely replace the old ones.
Banks treat IT systems as of no value, they outsource overseas, they seriously think any developer brain is the same as any other.
Banks treat development as just like call centers... they know they have to pay for warm bodies, any warm body will do.
Banks treat development as just like call centers... they know they have to pay for warm bodies, any warm body will do.
Yeah, I've worked in a bank like that.
As long as you had a CS degree, no matter what uni, no matter the grades, your experience, and if you were breathing during the interview they would hire you.
As long as you had a CS degree, no matter what uni, no matter the grades, your experience, and if you were breathing during the interview they would hire you.
A mate of mine worked for a large bank in the UK, and his experiences were different to this. One of the managers was Oxbridge educated, so they almost exclusively hired CS grads from Oxford and Cambridge. In their mind, they were the cream of the crop, and hiring the "best" graduates meant they'd have the best IT tools. I say "almost" because he managed one team, and he went into this persons team after his projects were wound down.
He joined a team where managers ruled supreme, and while many of the developers were good, they were probably worse than devs on the other teams. Managers were given a budget, and ultimately they didn't care if software was delivered without any testing if the financial risk wasn't that great. This led to developers following orders and rushing to complete stuff with frightening bugs, deployed systems that didn't match source control, etc.
It's a different process, but it seemed to be the same outcome. They hired top-tier graduates, but taught them nothing, and put them under enough constraints that it didn't matter who they hired. They were always going to deliver absolute shit.
He joined a team where managers ruled supreme, and while many of the developers were good, they were probably worse than devs on the other teams. Managers were given a budget, and ultimately they didn't care if software was delivered without any testing if the financial risk wasn't that great. This led to developers following orders and rushing to complete stuff with frightening bugs, deployed systems that didn't match source control, etc.
It's a different process, but it seemed to be the same outcome. They hired top-tier graduates, but taught them nothing, and put them under enough constraints that it didn't matter who they hired. They were always going to deliver absolute shit.
Not all banks are the same. Which is why the likes of Revolut and N26 and all the new tech banks are disrupting the market. PDS2 (New EU legislation that mandates banks open their APIs) will likely dominate.
Other banks are paying for their tech sins with technical debt -- paying Cobol devs ludicrious money because there is no one else.
Can't see traditional banks with this attitude of placing bodies in seats surviving long term.
Other banks are paying for their tech sins with technical debt -- paying Cobol devs ludicrious money because there is no one else.
Can't see traditional banks with this attitude of placing bodies in seats surviving long term.
I was reading up on this in relation to Sabadell and found: https://www.ft.com/content/c5157c1e-20ab-11e5-aa5a-398b2169c... - in 2015 newspapers were warning that this was "particularly risky".
With a golden parachute and his pension fully intact? That is conspicuously absent from the article but it is usually the way. And no bar in being a director of another firm. The executive class are a law unto themselves.
What happens to the lowly engineers pressured into cutting corners to meet an arbitrary deadline and denied the resources they needed? No such lavish rewards for them.
What happens to the lowly engineers pressured into cutting corners to meet an arbitrary deadline and denied the resources they needed? No such lavish rewards for them.
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Even the Wells Fargo execs responsible for actually breaking laws and stealing from customers got their compensation. If you can afford a top drawer law firm then why not steal everything that isn’t nailed down? There is no rule of law once you get to this level.
> why not steal everything that isn’t nailed down?
I like that phrase a lot, I think I might use it :)
I like that phrase a lot, I think I might use it :)
>> What happens to the lowly engineers pressured into cutting corners to meet an arbitrary deadline and denied the resources they needed? No such lavish rewards for them.
What makes you think they didn't get their overtime paid well enough?
What makes you think they didn't get their overtime paid well enough?
Do you know of any developers who get paid overtime?
I know. It was in Europe, and the employer in question is a bank. Overtime needs to be authorised, and if it is, it’s paid according to the law.
Nope, but I know quite a few who get paid enough not to care about overtime.
I mean, the IT platform switch was forced on him by the Spanish parent bank that owns TSB.
The bosses up the top were so abstracted away from what developers were working on, even the MDs of tech departments were in the dark. This was due to a thick barrier of (project, delivery, platform) managers between devs and execs.
I can remember one time a director of "innovation" came in for a surprise visit. Most of the managers had went out for a team lunch. So I was left with my other socially awkward colleagues babysitting this exec, along with the head of testing.
After about 5 minutes of showing the exec what we were actually working on, his eyes lit up, as though we had just discovered fire. In the end he was really happy and amazed on what we were working on.
All he had ever seen were some mockups and a video demo. We also got a chance to mention some of our grievances.
About two weeks later, our team had magically had some "extra" budget to buy Macs and 24inch monitors.