Long way to go on Financial Services ethics
The financial services industry still has a long way to go to overcome many of the aspects which contributed to the global financial crisis (GFC), according to AMP Capital chief executive, Stephen Dunne.
In an article published in his company's latest Corporate Governance report, Dunne has pointed to both the US and Australian experience and suggested that companies have to overcome "conditional blindness".
According to Dunne, in many respects the GFC was caused by a lack of ethics or ethics that did not extend beyond self-interest.
"It is not surprising that many believe that those involved or who benefitted from the causes of the GFC have not been made accountable for their actions, which were so clearly wrong," he said. "This has had far reaching impacts on the finance industry as it tries to regain the trust of its clients and the general public."
Dunne said the GFC had highlighted that compliance with the law was the beginning of individuals and companies taking responsibility for their actions and the importance of ethics, which extends beyond personal interest.
He said that company actions and management leadership in modelling clear ethics that endeared trust was critical.
"The finance sector, like all sectors, has some way to go and the future of the industry will depend on regaining the trust of the public and clients," Dunne said.
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