Page 154 - Articles Written by JGJ EF DPS

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.” (1)

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.