Taking on the mantle of governorship of a central bank is challenging, but for Andrew Bailey, the new governor of the Bank of England, the role couldn’t be more formidable. With the United Kingdom’s long-awaited divorce from the European Union around the corner, the country’s financial system will need all the help it can get to survive the inevitable turbulence. Bailey’s new job won’t be a walk in the park!
UK banks have achieved success in many areas, but when it comes to earning and retaining customer trust, they have fallen short. In an era of big bank failures, scandals and outright greed, public trust in the banking sector has been one of the main casualties. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way; banks can turn the tables and win back that crucial trust. But how?
Central banks, guardians of financial systems, consider multiple factors when determining policy; today, as countries suffer the effects of severe weather, central banks feel impelled to include the risks associated with climate change. Groups such as the Network for Greening the Financial System, which unites central banks to address climate-change financial risks and aids the private sector toward achieving a more sustainable future, allow central banks to pool their resources to combat this threat.
The so-called Fintech Revolution has drawn much commentary from the media and filled bank managers with dread of the threats posed by new fintech challengers, but is it really all that revolutionary? Even if it is not, progress is being made toward a more open financial sector that fosters healthy competition and innovation.