A rare chance to fix the rot in banking

In a 10 July opinion piece for CNN, our chair Huguette Labelle argues for the need for regulatory reform in the financial sector.

Trust used to be a word associated with banks. But the avalanche of financial scandals, from manipulation of interest rates to mis-selling of financial products, has changed all that.

At a time when so many economies and people's livelihoods have been damaged, we need a strong and transparent financial sector that we can trust, one that is corruption-free. This requires an overhaul not only in the regulatory environment, but also a resetting of moral compasses by those in the industry. Both are possible.

The relaxation of regulations in the past decade has encouraged banks to engage in ever riskier behavior, has hampered oversight of highly complex financial products, and has eroded standards of conduct. The lack of transparency and accountability in the financial sector has allowed people to cheat with impunity. Read more