The CEO of NY based Amalgamated Bank (a nearly 100 year old bank which is owned by unions and closely aligned with the Democratic Party), Keith Mestrich, has published his five principles of responsible banking which warrant a good look. Mestrich identifies the below guidelines to help the bank steer and include its stakeholders in the future as a responsible and ethical lender.
- Empowering people - Mestrich discusses how the bank's activities can widen access to affordable banking products and services,
- Customer trust must come first - customers deserve banks which do not drift from their roles to maximise customer financial standing,
- Policy advocacy - in Mestrich's eyes, banks should play a public policy role and even advocate beyond simply providing financial services. Issues he cites may include wage fairness, equitable housing programs, and access to banking for the underbanked,
- Regulation protects deposits - Mestrich argues that the role of safeguarding deposits and access to deposit insurance, is an extraordinary responsibility. As such, regulatory measures to protect from systematic risk and the like are important tools to be embraced by banks, and
- Transparency - here, Mestrich argues in favour of transparent products and governance processes in order to facilitate and encourage customer trust and loyalty.
It is interesting to ask if the ownership of this bank and these principles and its advocacy role go hand in hand... nonetheless this is a bank which is offering a differentiated and unique set of values and market positioning to its clients. The link for this story can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-mestrich/five-principles-to-restor_b_8475236.html
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