OUR PURPOSE
The Banking and Finance Oath (The BFO) helps individuals working in financial services to demonstrate their commitment to ethical practices​.
We do this by supporting decision-making that aspires above the law, because poor choices can have harmful and costly consequences.
Recent ethical failings have resulted in an estimated $2.4bn in compliance costs, fines and customer remediation... (The Ethical Advantage, Deloitte Access Economics, 2020)
HISTORY
The BFO was founded on a shared belief in the inherent ‘good’ of the financial services industry. It is a unique ethics initiative that seeks to improve our society by stregnthening the ethical standards of financial services through the implementation of individuals in the industry making a personal commitment to The Oath.
In response to the Global Financial Crisis and concerns about the impact of misconduct and other scandals on the reputation of banks globally, a number of leaders of the financial services industry in Australia came together to discuss the moral and ethical focus of the industry and had a range of ideas on how trust and confidence in the industry could be enhanced, and in some sectors restored.
Under the auspices of The Ethics Centre, a report was produced and those industry leaders voted on the initiatives they wished to see established. As a consequence, the Banking and Finance Ethics Panel was formed in 2010 with representatives from Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Rothschild, Morgan Stanley, AMP Capital, MLC and Westpac.
The BFO is the founding initiative of that Panel. The Oath was aimed at building trust and confidence in the financial services industry by re-asserting the moral and ethical foundation of the industry, in a way that transcended regulation, compliance and any professional standards, and by broadening expectations and discussion to include ethics, integrity, honesty and trust. The Ethics Centre facilitated the project and, through Dr Longstaff, was a major catalyst in the drafting of The Oath itself.
The BFO was launched in 2013 as an industry-led initiative. On 1 March 2021 The BFO merged with The Ethics Centre so as to expand and enrich conversations within the banking and finance industry on ethical issues.
View this short film where industry leaders talk more about the importance of ethics, integrity and trust.
The Banking and Finance Ethics Panel
The Banking and Finance Ethics Panel was established in 2010 by leaders from the banking and finance industry. Dr Simon Longstaff, Executive Director, The Ethics Centre, drafted The BFO after discussions with the members of the Panel. The views of each panel member were sought with the final wording agreed upon in February 2011.
The Panel comprised:
- Stephen Fitzgerald, formerly Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
- Steven Harker, Chief Executive & Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
- Stephen Dunne, Managing Director, AMP Capital
- David Cohen, Group General Counsel, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
- Trevor Rowe AO, Executive Chairman, Rothschild Australia
- Steve Tucker, Chief Executive Officer, MLC
- David Bell, formerly Group General Counsel, Westpac Banking Corporation
- Dr Simon Longstaff, Executive Director, The Ethics Centre
- Clare Payne, Consulting Fellow, The Ethics Centre and former Director of the Integrity Office of Macquarie Bank
- Amanda McCluskey, Senior Investment Manager and Co-Head of Sustainable Funds, First State Stewart Asia Pacific , Singapore