Since the financial crisis, banks have talked a lot about the need to restore trust and prove their social usefulness. But the protestations of reform have often seemed pro-forma, concealing a real desire to return as swiftly as possible to pre-crunch business as usual.
While acknowledging the need for stronger regulation, bosses have bridled at changing the way they manage institutions. They have persisted in chasing over-optimistic returns and paying sky-high salaries, arguing that to do otherwise would condemn their banks to also-ran status. The hard-sell investment banking culture has continued to predominate.
As 2012 has gone on, however, cracks have appeared in this position. These are partly the product of costly scandals that have tumbled out, which have in turn underlined the reputational and financial costs of the sales culture.