New approaches to culture in financial services

12 October 2023

A joint event between Bayes Business School and LSE.

Organiser: Prof. Daniel Beunza (Bayes Business School, City University of London and Systemic Risk Centre, London School of Economics)

Panel one

Taking stock of behavioural efforts to improve bank culture

A decade after the LIBOR scandal and the publication of the Changing banking for good report by the UK Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, the event reflects on past and future developments in enhancing organisational culture in financial services. These include:

  • The use of behavioural methods to measure and manage culture (surveys, experiments, nudges)
  • The creation and subsequent wind-down of the Financial Services Culture Board (FSCB), the Culture and Governance work by the Financial Conduct Authority
  • The proliferation of “Head of Culture” positions at UK large banks
  • The embedding of values and purpose into the HR, audit, compliance, and risk management functions of banks.

The panel considered: what progress has been made? Which areas of culture have improved most, and least? What approaches have proved more successful?

Moderator: Carol Franceschini (Senior Audit Manager for Behavioural Risk, Standard Chartered)

Panellists:

  • Peter Ewing (Technical Specialist, Financial Conduct Authority)
  • Alison Cottrell (Former CEO, Financial Services Culture Board)
  • Max Beilby (Senior VP, Culture & Behavioural Risk, Citi)
  • Hana Searson (Global Head of Culture & Behavioural Insights, Citi)

Panel two

The use of ethnography to understand and improve culture

The second panel complemented this discussion with a consideration of qualitative approaches to culture such as ethnography, and how these can complement cultural surveys and inform behavioural interventions.

Ethnography, as well as online ethnography in remote work settings, can be used to challenge behavioural assumptions in central corporate units, modify behavioural prescriptions in line with actual practices, and guide the design of behavioural nudges.

The panel included a discussion of the pioneering Change Ambassadors programme at the FSCB, a consideration of At-Home Ethnography methodology, and the use of ethnography by companies outside finance, especially user experience studies in the technology sector.

Moderator: Qamar Zaman (Partner and Chief Data Scientist, Stripe Partners)

Panellists:

  • Simon Roberts (Co-Founder and Partner, Stripe Partners)
  • Mats Alvesson (Professor of Organization Studies at University of Bath; also Lund University and Bayes Business School)
  • Kate Coombs (Former Head of Research, Financial Services Culture Board)
  • Daniel Beunza (Professor of Social Studies of Finance, Bayes Business School and SRC)

Visit the LSE Systemic Risk Centre event webpage for speaker profiles and bibliography.


The event was in-person only and adhered to the Chatham House Rule.

Event hashtag: #LSEFinServCulture