Page 24 - The Banks Article

Conclusions

There is more to "restoring bank trust" than a mere PR

exercise and vacuous lip service. Banks, governments and

customers are adapting, the question is which will adapt

fastest and with what actions and outcomes?

The culture of any organisation is set at the top, yet in the

world of the banks responsibility and accountability are

often so disassociated that cultural norms seem not to

impinge on the psyche of a good number of CEOs. Yet it
could be posed that, "If the chief executive, or his direct

reports in upper management, felt the behaviour of

customer-facing staff put their jobs at risk, you can
guarantee things would change pretty quickly.” (3)

Fundamental changes are needed to both the practices and
culture of the banking industry. However, with CEO moral

compasses still inactive or stuck on greed, scandal after

scandal has led to the reinforced perception that banks are

sacrosanct as there has been little action against the bank’s
senior management, few of them have lost their jobs and

fewer still faced criminal charges.

Governments need to overcome this inertia, to adapt and

regulate the actions of bank senior executives perhaps

along the lines seen in Australia. Especially if there is a
legitimate fear that with consumer debt rising there is the

potential for the creation of another debt fueled crisis. Like

housing - once you prick the balloon there is no stopping its

explosion unless you have first stuck a piece of regulatory
sellotape on the balloon and pierced through it to control

the speed of the deflation.