Archbishop of Canterbury calls for bankers to be 'good'

Archbishop Justin Welby

Archbishop Justin called for the banking industry "to be good". Drawing on the story of the Good Samaritan, the Archbishop said that corporations, just as individuals, must ask "Who is my neighbour?"

Speaking at St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday evening, Archbishop Justin said there will never be "perfect" banks, because "in the end no human being is of themselves perfectly good."

But the Archbishop said we can have "potentially good banks", which are motivated by virtue and not just financial bonuses and penalties.

Such a banking system would be "realistic" about human fallibility, but "optimistic" about human potential, he said.

Good banks have an essential role to play in "human flourishing", the Archbishop continued. "We see deep differences in wealth and potential at the moment, they are differences that can be eliminated, but they cannot be eliminated without good banks," he said.

Archbishop Justin later took part in a panel discussion chaired by the BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders. The other speakers were Antony Jenkins, group chief executive of Barclays Bank; John Fingleton, chief executive of Fingleton Associates; and Laura Willoughby, chief executive of Move Your Money UK.

To hear a recording of the lecture go to: www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5075/listen-to-archbishop-justin-on-good-banks