BBC News - Bankers 'must swear oath' after scandals, says report

An oath for bankers should be introduced to raise accountability and standards in banking, said the think tank ResPublica.

An oath would prioritise the needs of bankers' customers

It said the lack of public trust in banking after numerous scandals was an "ongoing concern" for the industry and the government.

In a new report, ResPublica called for an oath for bankers to "fulfil their proper moral and economic purpose".

Small businesses should also be treated as consumers, said the report.

'Road to absolution'

The think tank said this could ensure banks treated struggling firms fairly.

Director at ResPublica, Philip Blond, said: "As countless scandals demonstrate, virtue is distinctly absent from our banking institutions.

"Britain's bankers lack a sense of ethos and the institutions they work for lack a clearly defined social purpose."

He said an oath would "finally place bankers on the road to absolution".

The think tank said the British Bankers' Association, Building Societies Association and the new Banking Standards Review Council should adopt the oath for their members.

An extract from the oath says: "I will do my utmost to behave in a manner that prioritises the needs of customers.

"It is my first duty to provide an exemplary quality of service to my customers and to exhibit a duty of care above and beyond what is required by law."

'Part of answer'

Another part adds: "I will confront profligacy and impropriety wherever I encounter it, for the conduct of bankers can have dramatic consequence for society."

BBA executive director for financial policy and operations, Paul Chisnall, said: "Restoring trust and confidence is the banking industry's number one priority.

"But meaningful cultural change in an industry as complex and diverse as banking takes time."

He said a banking oath "very well could be part of the answer".

ResPublica also said bank shareholders should have more responsibility to make sure banks are held to account.

Its full report, Virtuous Banking: Placing ethos and purpose at the heart of banking, will be launched on Tuesday by the chairman of the Banking Standards Review Council, Sir Richard Lambert