Dutch banking culture six years after the fall of ABN AMRO bank

Abstract

This article presents the results of a survey among more than six hundred bankers in the Netherlands about banking culture. It addresses the question why trust in banks remains so low (45% of clients trust banks in the Netherlands). The key findings indicate that the problem is not so much immoral bankers or a few rotten apples but rather the dominance of a competitive banking culture. The findings suggest that clients’ trust may be regained when banks leave behind their focus on performance targets, financial incentives, and behavioral regulation and move instead to a caring culture with a focus on relationships and open discussion of ethical dilemma’s.

Keywords

• banking culture
• The Netherlands
• trust
• ethics
• performance targets