Opinion by Mathew Carr

May 2, 2024 — The chancellor of the UK reckons banks should be able to hide behind “due process” rules while other industries shouldn’t be allowed to.

The FCA (the UK Financial Conduct Authority) wants to “name and shame” some companies being investigated in certain circumstances.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wants the authority to revisit that plan, even though naming and shaming happens elsewhere in the economy, such as in energy and water.

The financial services industry must be seen differently, Hunt argued to the Financial Times (see highlighted section below).

Some say naming and shaming is a breach of due process, and companies should be innocent until proven guilty. But companies are not people. Putting the brand at risk is one of the most powerful levers the general public has against out-of-control corporations.

Naming and shaming is a way of getting to the heart of a problem more quickly.

This unwillingness to tackle bad behavior by banks is complete nonsense and might demonstrate that Hunt is not fit for his office.

Banks need to be shifted from “exploiting the wrongdoings” (and claiming ignorance) to “exposing the wrongdoings” … even when it hurts profit. Better whistleblower law would help.

If anything, banks should be under stricter rules because they have a unique ability to “follow the money” and blow the whistle on wrongdoing across the economy.

Credible evidence of bad behavior and/or cover up at a bank should be made public … to boost transparency and deter such criminality.

I call on Mr Hunt to explain his stance, as he did not appear to do that, according to the FT reporting. He didn’t provide a reason, though hints that economic growth is more important than transparency and eliminating crime.

I disagree.

The newspaper might have ran out of room on its front page yesterday (May 1) to tell us his rationale, I guess … but I doubt that’s the case.

Hunt has an unacceptable bias. (I hereby give him a chance to comment at mathew@carrzee.net …and I will add it here in an update if I can get anything from him.)