The banks, sensitive to their bad press, are taking steps to restore popularity.

Mar 9 2006 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

A new hassle in a world full of hassles is a trip to the bank. What was once a matter of popping quickly in and out, now involves finding a big window in the diary and taking a packed lunch and something to read while whiling away the long hours in the queue.

And is it just me who always finds himself behind someone whose business involves the most complicated and time-consuming transactions, involving moving at least 12 currencies across five different continents?

I swear the other day I was stuck behind Tessa Jowell's husband.

The reason for the longer waits is, of course, fewer branches.

Little surprise then that the news of huge bank profits causes mixed reactions among the queue-forming public.

HSBC is the latest, with an 11pc rise in profits to £11.9bn. It is by no means alone.

Last year the UK's big five banks announced combined profits of £33.4bn, which is greater than the GDP of a small country.

To be fair to the banks, the bulk of their profits do not come directly from the public, but from corporate banking and overseas business.

Overseas business accounts for getting on for half of Barclays' profits, and for HSBC it is four fifths.

But somehow I doubt these arguments will elicit much sympathy for the banks and they know it, just as they must be aware of the inevitable call for a windfall tax on their profits.

This is not, I think, a threat to be lightly shrugged off.

The main political parties, with new leaders in place or in waiting, are beginning the process of thinking up policies.

For Labour in 1997, a winner was a windfall tax on the then highly unpopular utilities to fund the New Deal.

It is also worth remembering that the last windfall tax on banks was imposed by Margaret Thatcher's Chancellor, Geoffrey Howe, in 1980.

It comes as little surprise then that the banks, sensitive to their bad press, are taking steps to restore popularity, by opening new branches.

HSBC sweetened the pill of its enormous profits by also announcing a £400m investment on refurbishment and new branches this year, and HBOS has also announced 100 new Halifax branches.

It's an ill windfall that blows no good.