Q: This series of reports has tracked global trends in the governance and supervision of non-financial risks — culture and conduct risks chief among them. To begin, do you have a general view on these trends that you might offer?
A: As the founder and chairman of an asset management firm, and a serial investor in a variety of financial companies, I’m keenly aware that the most important aspect of a high-performing firm is its culture, and that building and maintaining a strong culture focused on making a fair long-term profit is probably the single most important task of a financial firm’s leadership. It is also, though, a very difficult task to make culture analyzable, measurable, and replicable — which makes it very hard to supervise. The challenge for bank examiners is how to assess a firm’s culture, and a management team’s work in fostering that culture, in a way that doesn’t simply devolve into vague, subjective, personal preferences — which are as likely to be wrong as right.
This content is available to both premium Members and those who register for a free Observer account.
If you are a Member or an Observer of Starling Insights, please sign in below to access this article.
Members enjoy full access to all articles and related content from past editions of the Compendium as well as Starling's special reports. Observers can access a limited number of articles and may purchase articles on an ala carte basis.
You can click the 'Join' button below to become a Member or to register for free as an Observer.
Join The Discussion