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14 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH 29 DEC - 8 JAN 2012

B A N K O F I D E A S

On the fringe of Londons wealthyfinancial district, a four-storeybuilding owned by one of the worldslargest companies has found anunlikely new purpose. 5-29 SunStreet, an office block owned bySwiss financial services giant UBS,was repossessed last month byprotesters who are part of the anti-

corporate greed Occupy movement.Offering the opportunity to trade increativity rather than cash, it isnow bustling with art workshopsand discussion groups focusing oneverything from squatters rights toeconomic trade policy.

The protesters did not pick theirtarget at random. UBS has attractedheavy criticism for a range of riskyfinancial practices. In 2008 the firmwas made to pay a 500 million fineto the US government overallegations it had helped wealthy

Ryan Gallagher visits Bank of Ideas, a stimulatingoffshoot of the Occupy movement in London that is

part community centre, part university of protest

Americans evade taxes throughoffshore accounts. The same year itreported losses larger than anycompany in Swiss history and,despite this, went on to pay its chiefexecutives more than 8 million slashing 11,000 jobs and accepting a40 billion bailout from the Swissgovernment along the way.

Renamed by protesters the Bank ofIdeas, UBSs multi-million poundLondon property has become animportant hub for Occupy activists.As the winter weather begins to bite,their divisive outdoor campsite at StPauls Cathedral has seen a drop innumbers and is planning to scaledown. The repossessed building,though run down, provides shelterout of the wind and rain, with toiletfacilities, electricity and a kitchenserving up free hot food. Evictionproceedings have been launchedagainst them, but the latest hearingwas last week postponed untilJanuary. In the meantime, the Bank ofIdeas is staying open for business.

Inside the massive, 400-roombuilding, people from all walks of lifemingle. An open door policy isessentially in operation; all visitorsmust sign in, but anyone can comeand go provided they are notdisruptive. Among die-hardprotesters who have been involvedwith the Occupy London protestssince they began in October, there arehomeless people, families, teenagerswith nowhere else to go, and even afew inquisitive pensioners. Crammedwith meeting rooms, a makeshiftinternet cafe, a library, a kitchen and

even a 500 seat lecture theatre, it is in

effect the largest community centrein England albeit unofficially.

On the first floor, down a quietcorridor, a large, bright room hasbeen transformed into an artworkshop. The walls are decoratedwith paintings and graffiti, and twoyoung rappers, Sonny Green, 17, andTom Coffey, 21, perform an

impromptu song. Green, fromSouthend in Essex, stayed for twoweeks at the St Pauls campsite andhas been visiting the Bank of Ideassince it opened on 19 November.

Coming here is just amazing forthe soul, he says. London at themoment, especially if you are my sortof age, is really gritty. Theres notmuch to do, and you can easily getled down the wrong path all the time

through violenceand things likethat.

A number ofyouth centresacross Londonhave been forcedto close in thewake of recentgovernmentbudget cuts, which

has had a tangible impact on the livesof many young people in the city.The Bank of Ideas, though under-resourced and run by a ramshackleteam of volunteers, is to this endperforming an important function.

When youre out on the streets,its almost like the police are justtrying to intimidate you all the time,Green says. Places like this bring itall back to reality: we can love each

other, we can be peaceful, and we

Interestrates

Im doingsomethingI wanted to doall my life trying tochange theworld.

A PUBLIC REPOSSESSION

The stated aim of the Bank of Ideas is to provide a space wherepeople can help solve the pressing economic, social andenvironmental problems of our time. The building offerscommunity groups and other public services that have been hitby spending cuts free access, with the only prerequisite beingthat no one should need to pay to take part in the Banksactivities.

Jack Holburn, an Occupy London supporter, said: Whilst over9,000 families were kicked out of their homes in the last threemonths for failing to keep up mortgage payments mostly due tothe recession caused by the banks UBS and other financialgiants are sitting on massive abandoned properties. As banksrepossess families homes, empty bank property needs to berepossessed by the public. We hope this is the first in a wave ofpublic repossessions of property belonging to the companiesthat crashed the global economy.

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and build. The participants feel theyare part of something positive andimportant a global protestcommunity that has flourished in2011 and continues to grow.

A tiny proportion [of thepopulation] has this disproportionatecontrol, says Janos Abel, a 74-year-old retired engineer who often visitsthe Bank of Ideas to participate indiscussion groups. The 99 per centhas to wake up as to how they are sopowerless. And thats what I hopewill grow out of this occupation.

Once active in historic studentprotests in France during the 1960s,Abel is convinced the Occupymovement is of greater significancebecause of the internets role inspreading its message globally.Today, at the Bank of Ideas, he ismore content than ever. Im doingsomething I wanted to do all mylife, he says, smiling. Im trying to

change the world.

1529 DEC - 8 JAN 2012 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH

T H E S A T U R D A Y S

can create stuff, we can do what wewant, we can have our say.

Today, Green, who plans to releasean album called When Words FailMusic Speaks next year, has broughthis friend and fellow musician Coffeyto the Bank of Ideas for the first time.A rising star on Londons hip-hopcircuit under the name Agrow,

Coffey is impressed by what he hasseen. Im glad I came because Ivemet some magnificent people, hesays. I came here just to see whatsgoing on. I wanted to appreciate thevibes of people trying to make apositive change for the world ratherthan a negative change.

The rest of the office block is livelywith activity. A large group gathersnear the kitchen for a discussion on

squatting, while up a flight of stairsin a calm room designated formeditation, a green-haired woman inher early sixties, Corina Flamma,shares an extraordinary story.

Born in Liberia, she came toEngland in the 1950s as a child withher father, who was then the WestAfrican nations consul-general to the

UK. Aged 20, she sang in an all-girlpop group, the Flamma-ShermanSisters, who secured a publishingdeal with the Beatles Apple Recordsin the late 1960s. Earlier this year,Flamma was made homeless after herNorth London flat was repossessed.She now lives at the Bank of Ideasalong with her daughter, Zo, on amattress in a disused meeting room.

Occupy is an alternative socio-economic provider complementingthe government, she says. Itsproviding housing, its providingfood I see it as a vehicle to recyclewasted buildings, wasted resources,wasted people and wasted skills. Itsan important principle that doesntend with the loss of this building.

Before she came to the Bank ofIdeas, Flamma, a qualified architect,was sleeping on a friends sofa.I was not joyful, she says. But theblinkers are now off my eyes. I seeEngland in a totally new way. I hadgiven up with this country untilI came to Occupy.

There are many in the building,like Flamma, who face difficultcircumstances. Yet , a sense ofoptimism prevails. With an averageof eight workshops every day on awide array of topics, there are

opportunities to learn, discuss, share

CANARIES IN THE MINE

The Occupy London protest movement hasgained the support of a wide variety ofpublic figures since it began in October.Musicians including Thom Yorke ofRadiohead and folk-singer Billy Bragghave attended the Bank of Ideas in thelast month, while renowned US civil rightsactivist Jesse Jackson delivered a speechoutside the campsite at St Pauls Cathedralon 15 December.

Jackson told protesters: Occupy isaddressing the gaps in inequality,unfairness and corruption. Occupiers arethe canaries in the mines, warning us ofthe dangers. Too few have too much, toomany have too little Banks got bailedout, people got left out. Protesters arecriminalised, but not a single banker hasgone to jail for their crimes of corruption.

PROFIT AND LOSS

8.2m the total salary and bonus package in 2009 earned byCarsten Kengeter, the London-based co-chief executive of UBSsinvestment banking division11 billion losses reported by UBS in 200840 billion amount paid by Swiss government in 2008 to bailout UBS500 million the amount UBS agreed to pay to the US

government in 2009 as part of a fine for conspiring to defraudthe United States by impeding the Internal Revenue Service11,000 jobs cut at UBS since the beginning of the financial crisisin 2009890 billion total assets held by UBS1.5 billion the amount lost by UBS rogue trader KwekuAdoboli, arrested in September

Bank of Ideas hasrepossessed aLondon officeblock owned byUBS. Photo: RyanGallagher

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