Rebuilding trust

The starting point for the discussion  will be our paper on ‘Benchmarking ESG – analysing the size, growth & penetration of sustainable finance’ published on Tuesday 26th October through the policy lens.

The starting point for the discussion  will be our paper on ‘Benchmarking ESG – analysing the size, growth & penetration of sustainable finance’ published on Tuesday 26th October through the lens of PR & Comms.

We think pay and bonuses for 2020 across the industry will be trickier than ever to calculate and could cause significant problems for the industry from a political and PR perspective. This event series involves three separate workshops that will focus on the HR perspective, the political perspective, and the PR & comms perspective. Our […]

The banking and finance industry can be part of the solution to the Covid crisis, but how the industry responds and how it behaves in the next few weeks and months will define its relationship with government and society for the next decade. This short paper summarises 10 things that the industry should and should not be doing right now.

Last week, the FCA published a discussion paper called ‘Transforming Culture in Financial Services’ and hosted a conference on this theme. The FCA has also launched a mission statement on its approach to supervision. This breakfast is an opportunity to gain insight from Jonathan on the FCA’s approach to culture, better understand how the FCA […]

If you think that the lack of trust in the banking and finance industry among regulators, policymakers and the wider public will blow over anytime soon then you haven’t been paying attention. Recent evidence – from Jeremy Corbyn’s warning that he’s a threat to the ‘gamblers and speculators’ in the City, to the Brexit debate […]

The drill is well-rehearsed: misrepresent, ignore, and avoid. Whether it is Glass-Steagall, bankers bonuses, proprietary trading or capital requirements, the effect is the same. That there is even still a debate over higher levels of capital and lower leverage is testament to the success of the diversionary tactics of the banking lobby over the past five years.

The banking and finance industry is very good at talking about the risks of more regulation. But it is not always as good at outlining the value and purpose of what it does, and its impact on society and individuals. At this private dinner for senior executives, Lord Hill of Oareford, the former European Commissioner […]

Financial markets have grown rapidly over the past few decades boosted by globalisation and the revolution in IT. This growth has been accompanied by increased concentration, with economies of scale, lower costs and greater efficiency, creating larger clusters and financial centres. But somewhere along the way the connection between financial markets and society has been lost: rebuilding trust in banking and finance and dealing with the UK’s exit from the European Union will be the main challenges for the industry for many years to come.

We believe that in the wake of the EU referendum it is even more important than before for the banking and finance industry to rethink its relationship with society and how to earn back some of the trust that it has lost. A good place to start is how to make a better case for […]

Rethinking the culture in banking and finance is an essential part of restoring trust and stability in the financial system. Dr Andreas Dombret, an executive board member of the Deutsche Bundesbank with more than 20 years’ experience as a senior investment banker, has been a vocal advocate of better culture in the industry and its […]

In the wake of the financial crisis, it is vital that the banking and finance industry recovers the trust that it has lost and makes a more compelling case for the value of the important role it plays. Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP and board member of Goldman Sachs, will discuss some of […]

Rebuilding trust in the banking system and between regulators and the organisations they regulate is an essential part of a sustainable recovery in the European banking sector. While progress has been made, there is still work to be done in repairing trust in the banks’ numbers, their future conduct, and their approach to pay and […]

Joris Luyendijk, an investigative journalist and anthropologist by training, knew as much about banking as the average person: almost nothing. Bankers, he thought, were ruthless, competitive, bonus-obsessed sharks, irrelevant to his life. And then he was assigned to investigate the financial sector in a series of interviews for The Guradian. Joris immersed himself in the […]

Finance academics and economists need to take a more constructively critical approach to the finance industry to help keep it on its toes, break out of the vicious circle of mistrust and regulation, and highlight the positive role it can play in driving prosperity.

Investment banks and asset managers need to start making a more constructive and positive case for what they do and for the valuable role that capital markets can play – before it’s too late.

We believe that pay in the asset management and investment banking industries is not just about the numbers. Instead, it is an important barometer of the shifting balance in how the industry thinks about itself in relation to its shareholders, to its clients, to policymakers and to society.This event brings together senior finance and HR […]

The details of the latest multi-billion dollar settlement over concerted manipulation of the FX markets make for depressing reading. But almost perversely, there is some good news buried beneath the piles of ordure…

If you work in the financial markets then you should probably have already read the recent speech by Minouche Shafik – deputy governor of the Bank of England with responsibility for markets and banking – on why markets matter, why the latest scandals are not just the fault of ‘a few bad apples’, and how the industry can apply its collective imagination to help rebuild fair and effective markets. But just in case you haven’t, here is an edited summary.

If the banking industry wants to rebuild trust and persuade policymakers that it has fundamentally changed, it needs to show that it has changed the way it thinks as well as how it behaves.

The relentless process of regulatory reform is getting bogged down in its own complexity. But before banks can draw a line in the sand and move on they need to prove they can be trusted on a longer leash – and stop treating every reform like it was General Custer’s last stand.

The impressive recovery in IPO volumes over the past six months has been accompanied by less impressive aftermarket performance and poor returns for investors. This points to structural weaknesses in the IPO market that could kill off a sustained recovery in new issues before it even gets going.

Given the technological progress, deregulation and innovation over the past 30 years, you might have expected to see a quantum change in the cost and efficiency of finance. Instead, the cost of financial intermediation has increased – and  market participants have captured most of the gains for themselves.

The long, slow decline of the fixed income business has highlighted the inability of most investment banks to adapt their business models to a changing landscape – and raises serious questions for the future of the entire industry.

The question of pay and bonuses at investment banks is an important barometer of how the industry thinks about itself in relation to its shareholders, to its clients, and to society. Until banks start making a more positive case for what they do, they will struggle to defuse – let alone win – the argument.

The asset management industry’s collective failure to speak up and engage in the debate on the reform of banking and finance has cost it a seat at the top table and helped attract the attention of regulators to the industry’s own shortcomings. It’s time to change tack.

David Wright has been at the forefront of international policy and regulation in financial services for the past few decades at IOSCO and before that at the European Commission. At this private dinner, he will lead a discussion with senior executives from the capital markets industry exploring how it can rebuild trust with policymakers, regulators and clients.