Whether banking is a profession is open to debate. Whether people working in banks can and should act professionally is, however, rather easier to agree on. We know what ‘professional’ looks like when we see it (and even more so, when we don’t); and in a sector such as banking, where customers – whether consumers, clients or counterparties – have to put some degree of trust in the behaviour and competence of those they are dealing with, we expect those providing the service to act professionally.
A steady drip-feed of examples of bad behaviour or lack of competence has undermined the reputation of the banking sector as a whole. Public confidence in the industry’s ability to manage and police itself has declined sharply, leaving a vacuum that regulation is now moving to fill.
