Business Ethics After the Global Financial Crisis

8Professional Responsibility and the Banks

Christopher Cowton

Introduction

The global financial crisis (GFC) led to much blaming of banks and bankers. Suggestions for restitution or punishment flow quite easily from the attribution of blame, as do proposals for making banking better in the future, the latter being the focus of this chapter. However, although fixing past problems can be helpful, it is possible that paying attention to other factors, not obviously implicated in the crisis, has something—perhaps a great deal—to offer. With that in mind, the aim of this chapter is to examine how the development and exercise of professional responsibility might make a valuable contribution to a good future for the banking sector and all those ...