LONDON — The chairman of banking group HSBC says bankers owe the world an apology.
Stephen K. Green, speaking in an interview with BBC television broadcast Wednesday, said the world cannot do without banks, but that bankers need to learn the lessons of the financial crisis that has rocked the world’s economy.
And the most important task for their directors, he said, is to promote a culture of ethics and integrity.
“I think the change in the public perception of the industry is entirely understandable. The banking industry has not covered itself in glory to say the least, and indeed the industry collectively owes the real world an apology for what has happened, and it also owes the real world a commitment to learn the lessons,” he said.
Some of those lessons “are about governance and ethics and culture within the industry,” said Green, who is also a Church of England priest.
“You can’t do all this simply by setting rules and regulations, you have to expect the leadership in the industry to nurture a real culture of ethics and integrity and that’s actually a continuing priority, perhaps the greatest priority of all as far as I am concerned for the boards of banks.”
In an earlier role as head of HSBC’s investment banking and markets operations, Green canceled all bonuses in 2001 and 2002 during a stock market slump. A business which had not performed well for shareholders could not justify bonuses, he said at the time.
Some bankers and analysts left the company in protest, but Green was rewarded in 2003 with promotion to chief executive.
“You can’t do without banks. You can’t accept the proposition that all banks, that all banking is, as it were, kind of sinful or unattractive,” said Green, who is now group chairman of HSBC Holdings PLC.
“No, you’ve got to find the way forwards. And indeed, the vast, vast majority of bankers want to be doing a professional job, want to be there with a sense of making a real commitment.”
He added: “The tragedy is, it’s a very small part of the industry that has produced all of the difficulties which has led to the breakdown of public trust.”
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