Focus on Bank Culture Is an Odd Regulatory Strategy
ByTraders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve chairwoman, spoke after the central bank’s December policy meeting. CreditSpencer Platt/Getty Images
The general counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said last week that everyone “should be concerned with culture in financial services.” This has been a theme raised by banking regulators the world over.
Janet L. Yellen, the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, has said that “we expect the firms we oversee to follow the law and to operate in an ethical manner. Too often in recent years, bankers at large institutions have not done so, sometimes brazenly.”
Dutch bankers must now swear an oath to, among other things, not misuse their banking knowledge and to put the interests of customers first. The oath concludes with a “so help me God.”…