Stephen Green: Bankers Need A Moral Compass

A good interview this morning on NPR with Stephen Green.

A couple of excerpts:

Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC wrote a book about banking: Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World.  Green is also an ordained priest in the Church of England. In his book, he proposes a "new capitalism" that brings good business and good ethics together. He says moral and spiritual values should take precedence over immediate profit.

On The Role Of Company Boards:

"The responsibility of the board is to grow the business on the basis of a sustainable business model for the foreseeable future," Green says. He says this is accomplished by providing good customer service to customers on a transparent, open basis, by having engaged, committed employees, and by ensuring that a company pays attention to its community responsibilities.

An excerpt from his book:

It is not only the actors of the financial world who are affected. Shocks to the global financial system will eventually affect us all, from suburban families in America to small businesses in China, to Greek shipowners and to Russian oligarchs.

Somewhere deep down, the question gnaws away: If, with all the technology and sophistication at our disposal, the basic structure of the world economy is built upon sand, not rock, then what is the justification for all our labours? For all of us who work directly or tangentially in the financial system, how can everything we relied on be so swiftly under threat?

You can listen to the interview or view more excepts here.