If your bank is still not saying “Yes”, don’t reach for the stocking mask and swag bag because it’s now been statistically proven that bank robbery doesn’t pay as well as you might think.

Three leading economists from the Universities of Sussex and Surrey have shown that the average return on a bank heist in the UK is £12,706.60 per person per raid. To achieve a near-average income, you would have to rob two banks a year. But every additional robbery increases your chance of getting caught by a probability of 0.8.  After four raids the odds are that you will be banged up with consequent impact on your earning potential. On balance, say the economists, robbing a bank is a poor economic decision.

So, if your bank is proving a tough nut to crack, don’t reach for a stocking, reach for the phone and call me. I can’t guarantee to bring home the swag, but I can promise that your odds will improve greatly.

You can read all about the economics of the bank heist here.