Our journey towards sustainability

Our clients
Key drivers: materiality top issues
3. Culture, ethics and integrity
For the FS industry to optimize profit with purpose, key
concepts of culture, ethics and integrity must be addressed
along with the operational mechanisms that underpin them.
In a 2015 EY survey, Rethinking risk
management, a majority of respondents
indicate they are rethinking their approach
to managing nonfinancial risk and risk
accountability. Conduct and compliance
failures have resulted in huge financial and
reputational costs to the industry. Nearly
two-thirds of survey participants agree that
lapses in internal oversight and controls
are the main reasons for these losses.
Changing corporate culture is challenging
but FS organizations are taking meaningful
steps that highlight the industry’s commitment
to change. These include more revised
remuneration arrangements for top
executives, increased attention to diversity
and inclusiveness, investment in attracting
and retaining talent, greater anti-bribery and
corruption measures, and improved
transparency. Sustainable performance
is the focus.
In recent years, banks have refocused,
redefined and reshaped many aspects
of their core business, structures and
processes through technological innovation.
Yet their workforce demographic remains
relatively unchanged. If banks want to tackle
the cultural and technological challenges
the industry faces, and in doing so improve
financial performance, they need to focus
on transforming their people too, not just
their products and processes. Our 2015
report, Transforming talent — The banker of
the future explores how tomorrow’s banking
workforce will be unrecognizable from
today’s.
Behaviors need to change
Culture is at the root of misconduct, and banks agree the key to transformation is striking
a balance between a sales-driven front office and the new risk management paradigm.
Progress is under way:
75%
of firms are in the
process of changing
their culture
Read more in our report summary
of Rethinking risk management
81%
report culture change
is a work
in progress
83%
view consistency between
organizational culture, risk
culture, employee behavior
and risk appetite as the key
driver of change
Banks need to foster a culture of entrepreneurialism and innovation if they are to tackle the cultural and technological challenges
the industry faces, while working to improve their financial performance. A stronger, better banking world will be made up of a collection
of the best individuals from diverse backgrounds. This means leaving behind much of the stereotypical banking characteristics, encouraging
a diverse generation of young, technology-focused professionals to enter the workforce and helping them thrive. Diversity in the workforce
is the best way to produce the highest-performing teams, so it is not just the right thing to do, but also commercially shrewd. However, it’s
not all about the next quarter’s earnings; it’s about creating a more efficient bank in the long term. Re-engineering the make-up of the
workforce to better reflect the technology-driven world banks now operate in is a good first step to achieving this.
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Appendices Our communities Our people Our clients Introduction
Karl Meekings
Global Banking & Capital Markets Strategic Analyst, EY