Will the banking sector step up?

Over the last few months we’ve seen the banking sector’s reputation affected enormously. It has been particularly interesting to observe how companies are handling their related reporting and communications. So far the results have been curious. Some banks seem to have pretended that nothing has happened while others have reacted in a disjointed way. However we have not yet found an example of a bank that seems to have talked about their response effectively. Meanwhile, major threats such as ‘Tesco Bank’ are starting to emerge.

An interesting litmus test is a visit to the corporate websites of the major banks and a glance at their latest sustainable development reports (one appeared yesterday). The question is: which organisation is prepared to say clearly and concisely that it is aware that the public, its shareholders and the regulators think that the sector has been run incompetently and that it is taking active steps to address this? And also to support these statements with clear evidence? So far we’re not aware of any such example. A significant ‘first mover’ advantage is waiting for someone. Who is prepared to take it?