Standards Commission told to set up bankers’ qualification
BANKERS should belong to a professional body like doctors and accountants, with basic standardised qualifications designed to drive up standards of behaviour, consumer campaigners told MPs and peers yesterday.
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards was also told that the industry is damagingly concentrated and should be referred to the competition commission.
“A professional body cannot prevent anything from going wrong, but they can put systems in place to make sure it does not happen again,” said Peter Vicary-Smith from Which?
“You would expect at least some qualification in how to serve a customer and what is fair treatment. There are some things going on in individual banks, but nothing across the system.”
Mike Dailly from the Financial Services Consumer Panel argued this would also make it easier to deal with poorly behaved bankers.