A few months ago I wrote about what we can learn from the US banking system (albeit a system that caused the global credit crunch and subsequent recession) (Community Reinvestment: learning from the US) . This week President Obama announced a new "financial crisis responsibility fee" to claw back some of the public funds that US banks have received - generating up to £72bn in tax. These banks are now in sufficiently rude health to be planning to pay bonuses totally billions of dollars. There are number of things about Obama's approach that are interesting.

The language President Obama used in announcing what is effectively a tax on banks, is pretty strong stuff. He said: ‘we want our money back and we're going to get it'. Fairly unambiguous language. Hugely populist stuff, though hardly surprising for a president swept to power just a year ago on a platform of change. But Obama seems unconcerned with upsetting the banks and damaging a still fragile US economy. This is in stark contract with our own politicians, who seem nervous of a mass exodus of financial services to more favourable locations overseas.

The tax only applies to banks with assets over $50bn, directly targeting the ‘big boys' but not penalising the smaller community banks (of which there are many in the States). In the US the $700bn or so spent bailing out ailing institutions went not only to the banks, but to insurance companies (most notably AIG) and the car industry. The banks have in fact paid back far more of the money they received than the other sectors, but it is the banks that are directing the public's anger and the banks that Obama have chosen to target.

Interesting stuff and something for our timid politicians to think about as we go into the general election.

The other thing I became aware of just last week was a citizen-led response to the financial crisis. The ‘Move Your Money' campaign was established in response to the greed and excessive risk taking of banks that has resulted in suffering for communities in the US. It suggests that if people are dissatisfied by these banks, then they should move their money (or mortgage) to somewhere else more ethical. A simple message and a logical action to take. The campaign is attracting significant media attention and increasing numbers of people are now switching their accounts to institutions that are not paying obscene bonuses to their employees or acting in ways that harm society.

Like any great campaign, it's so simple in conception that it makes you wonder ‘why didn't I think of that?' There seems to me to be huge potential for a similar campaign in the UK. Why wouldn't people unhappy with the way banks are acting not move their accounts to better institutions? I would.

Of course we need to think some things through...like where to move our money too. And how to make it as easy as possible for people to move accounts - cut through some of the inevitable bureaucracy and research needed. But these are surely things we can accomplish if we give it some thought.

Interested in the idea of ‘move your money', then I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, watch this space.