Banking, ethics and sustainability: the need for a self-critical look at corporate social responsibility strategies

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Today’s world is governed by modern capitalism, which has led us to seek the innovation, ambition and stimuli that the system has generated. Technology and globalization have caused profound, dynamic changes, and the rules of morality have been pushed aside. Meeting financial targets has become the main concern of major businesses and financial institutions, at the expense of social conscience and market integrity. The financial scandals and levels of corruption seen in various parts of the world have revealed a crisis of ethics, which in turn has led to a loss of trust in capital markets. Capitalism has cannibalized countries’ real economies, leading to a concentration of wealth among a global economic elite and exaggerated growth in speculation in securities on financial markets. Politics has become the financial markets’ closest ally, for it has proved incapable of controlling such phenomena as tax evasion and economic crises. An ethical frame of reference that will encourage honest conduct towards society is therefore urgently needed.

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