Value and Values: Perceptions of Ethics in the City Today

Source: St. Paul's Institute

Extract from Executive Summary

This research confirms and refutes numerous stereotypes about financial services professionals working in the City of London. In response to certain questions, the respondents play to type. For example, ‘salary and bonuses’ are the most important motivation for professionals working in the FS sector in London for 2 in 3 (64%) of participants. ‘Enjoyment of the work’ comes a distant second. However, in other areas, they confound the stereotype of ‘greed is good’ capitalists. Most notably, FS professionals in London tend to think that bankers, stock brokers, FTSE 100 chief executives, lawyers and city bond traders are being paid too much. Moreover, most

FS professionals in London think that deregulation of financial markets results in less ethical behaviour. FS professionals in London tend to be positive about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their companies, with the majority agreeing that CSR is discussed and incentivised in their workplace. They also tend to reject the notion that CSR has a negative effect on shareholder value. Most notably of all, 75% agree that there is too great a gap between rich and poor in this country, and 58% agree that companies should invest directly in deprived communities.

Levels of knowledge on the history of the FS in the UK varies considerably, with the most experienced professionals far more knowledgeable about the history of the City and the economy more broadly.

• Most do not know the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) motto (just 14%).
• Most FS professionals are not aware of earlier recessions in the UK around 1980 and 1990/91.
• Many are not completely familiar with what happened after the financial ‘Big Bang’:
• – 2 in 5 think that the LSE crashed following the ‘Big Bang’.
• – 1 in 3 disagree that the financial markets were deregulated.
• – 2 in 5 are not sure whether firms were allowed to be owned by an international corporation, although 42% say that was the case.
• – The majority do not know that minimum scales of commission were abolished and whether individual members of the LSE ceased to have voting rights.
  – More than two-thirds (69%) did not know that the financial ‘Big Bang’ happened in 1986.

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Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Simon Goldenberg

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