I have a mantra that I have developed over the past few years. While it doesn’t trip easily off the tongue, I think the phrase holds the key to the future of banking. It is purpose-driven, platform-based, process-structured banking.
‘Purpose-driven’ means standing for something. After the 2008 financial crisis, banks were accused of losing their moral compass and being socially useless. It has taken a long time to internalise what that means, but it is finally coming to the fore in the 2020s. What does banking stand for? How can it be socially useful? Is finance just for profit, investors and shareholders, or does it have a wider role in society, government and the economy?
