THE GOOD BANK - a concept for improving the global financial industry
Five years ago, Lehman Brothers entered history as the largest bankruptcy ever. The financial crisis that followed triggered the most severe economic downturn in decades. A widespread sense of injustice flourished in repsonse to government bailouts of the banking industry. The loss of confidence in the financial sector extends beyound fringe groups or leftwing academics to include many who had previously been the industry’s staunchest defenders. This has led both to more stringent regulation and to the recognition that the banking system requires wholesale re-examination. Accordingly The Economist Group brought together platform and a live discussion in London to address this critical question: What does it take to be a Good Bank?
The Good Bank is an Economist Intelligence Unit research programme sponsored by Credit Suisse, Mazars and SAP and supported by Capgemini. This programme brought together dozens of experts to discuss the best ways to improve banking and what that would mean to a wider variety of stakeholders. It was fuelled by an online debate and culminated in a live webcast that is available globally. This was informed by contributions from the online forum, desk research and further in-depth interviews with banking executives and industry experts. This report was written by Dan Armstrong and edited by Brian Gardner. Our sincere thanks are due to all who contributed their time and insights to this project.
