'Restoring trust' was the title of the British Bankers’ Association’s annual international banking conference this year, and appropriately so. Banks in the UK, Europe and the US are still struggling to regain public confidence in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. They are hindered in their efforts by the sovereign debt crisis and recession in the eurozone, mis-selling scandals, the manipulation of Libor, Iranian sanctions busting, breaching anti-money laundering regulations, rogue trading, internet security breaches and more.
Because of the inter-connectedness of the global financial system, even banks in countries that have not suffered any of these problems are afraid of being tarred with the same brush and so must work hard to maintain the trust of customers, shareholders, governments and wider society.
