Ethical Banking Quotes

The doctrine of Islamic economics is simplistic, incoherent and largely irrelevant to present economic challenges…. The real purpose of Islamic economics has not been economic improvement but cultivation of a distinct Islamic identity to resist cultural globalization.

Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'

The motto of the old order in the City of London was, 'My word is my bond,' but the financial crisis revealed a culture quite alien to that heritage. The stewards of people's money were revealed to have been speculators with it.

If you have the abilities to earn a lot of money and if you have the character to persist in giving that to the most effective charities you can find, then that may be the best thing that you can do. And - also, if you do become a Wall Street banker, I think you need to be aware of what you're doing in terms of your daily work, not just earning money to give a lot away. But you need to think about - am I harming people through the work that I'm doing?

Banks also have to say no to customers. We can't always give clients what they want; it may not be in the client's best interest.

Banks need to think through their ethics very carefully, and many have done so. I don't know any bank that dismisses the concept of ethical banking.

We need to change how we run banks. We need to change the culture. If we get it right, we can have a huge impact.

Of course, bankers were always interested in making money. But when bankers had clients, they bore some responsibility for the clients' welfare.

The Pope appeals for disinterested solidarity and for a return to person-centred ethics in the world of finance and economics.