The Ethical Stance in Banking
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The Ethical Stance in Banking Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universiät München vorgelegt von Jesús Simeón Villa aus den Philippinen 2010 Referent: Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Vossenkuhl Korreferent: PD Dr. Stephan Sellmaier Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 19.07.2010 Acknowledgements This thesis is especially dedicated to my wife, Joy, whose loving encouragement has enabled me to envisage and achieve my doctoral contribution to the field of ethics. I wish to express my gratitude to all those who made it possible for me to complete my thesis. Above all, I am deeply indebted to Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Vossenkuhl for providing me excellent advice and support as my supervisor and subsequent examiner, to Prof. Jeff Malpas of the University of Tasmania for his attentive supervision and positive suggestions. I am similarly grateful to PD Dr. Stephan Sellmaier for allowing me to work in the Münchner Kompetenzzentrum Ethik and for agreeing to be my second examiner, and to Prof. Dr. Tobias Döring for his encouragement and agreement to act as my third examiner. Special thanks go to all the individuals, financial institutions, and regulators in Hong Kong and Australia for their participation in my empirical research, and to Vernon Moore and John McCleod for their assistance therewith. There are many others to whom I owe my gratitude for their contribution: Dr. Valerie Hazel for valuable assistance on formatting; my daughter, Giselle Villa- Hansen for reviewing and merging my documents: Dr. Brita Hansen for proofreading; Kristine Hinterholzinger for her help on the Zusammenfassung. Contents ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................1 PART A. APPROACHING BANKING FROM A PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE...............3 CHAPTER 1. GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS..............................................................................................3 A. APOCALYPSE .........................................................................................................................................3 B. PARADISE LOST.....................................................................................................................................5 C. BANKS AND HOUSEHOLD DEBT ...........................................................................................................8 D. JUDGMENT ON THE BANKS ...................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2. VIEWS OF BANKING ETHICS ...................................................................................11 A. DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN BANKING ..............................................................................................11 B. NECESSITY FOR BANKS IN CONTEMPORARY PERIOD ........................................................................12 C. USURY .................................................................................................................................................15 D. PROFIT MOTIVE...................................................................................................................................18 E. UTILITARIANISM..................................................................................................................................23 F. CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE ................................................................................................................25 G. CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE IN BANKING ETHICS..............................................................................29 H. SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORIES............................................................................................................35 H. 1. Contractarianism .................................................................................................................... 35 H. 2. Contractualism........................................................................................................................ 38 H. 3. Social Contract Methodology in Business Ethics .................................................................. 41 I. VIRTUE ETHICS.....................................................................................................................................43 J. SPECIFIC CONCERNS IN FINANCE AND BANKING ETHICS...................................................................45 PART B. THE IDEA OF ETHICS IN BANKING: SELF CONCEPTIONS AND CRITIQUE...50 CHAPTER 3. ETHICAL UNDERSTANDING IN THE BANKING SECTOR..............................50 A. RETAIL DEPOSITS................................................................................................................................51 A. 1. Trust ......................................................................................................................................... 53 A. 2. Product Differentiation ........................................................................................................... 54 B. CREDIT CARDS AND PERSONAL LOANS .............................................................................................64 C. HOUSING MORTGAGE LOANS.............................................................................................................80 D. CORPORATE FINANCE .........................................................................................................................96 E. FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND SECURITIES TRADING ........................................................................... 108 F. CODE OF CONDUCT .......................................................................................................................... 118 G. BANK SELF-ASSESSMENT................................................................................................................ 129 CHAPTER 4. SELF-GOVERNANCE AND STATE REGULATION .......................................... 136 A. CODE OF BANKING PRACTICE ......................................................................................................... 136 B. REGULATION IN HONG KONG.......................................................................................................... 142 B. 1. Financial Crises in Retrospect ..............................................................................................142 B. 2. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority.....................................................................................144 B. 2.1 Credit Cards ....................................................................................................................................... 149 B. 2.2 Housing Loans ................................................................................................................................... 150 B. 2.3 Negative Equity Problem .................................................................................................................. 150 B. 2.4 Supervisory Stance ............................................................................................................................ 152 B. 3. Attitude of Banks towards HKMA .........................................................................................152 C. REGULATION IN AUSTRALIA............................................................................................................ 156 C. 1. Deregulation, Banking Crisis, and Recession...................................................................... 156 C. 2. New Regulatory Model .......................................................................................................... 163 C. 3. Attitude of Australian Banks Towards Regulators...............................................................165 CHAPTER 5. PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS............................................................................. 172 A. DIMINUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY .................................................................................................... 172 i B. DEPARTURE FROM FAIRNESS........................................................................................................... 174 C. OPACITY OR TRANSPARENCY? ........................................................................................................ 181 PART C. HARSH REALITIES AND CRITIQUE OF BANKING ETHICS ............................... 185 CHAPTER 6. THE SUB-PRIME CRISIS: AN ETHICAL FAILURE?........................................ 185 A. EVICTION FROM HOMES .................................................................................................................. 185 B. SUB-PRIME MORTGAGES ANALYSED.............................................................................................. 190 C. HOUSING MELTDOWN...................................................................................................................... 192 D. ORIGINS OF CHAOS .......................................................................................................................... 194 D. 1. Financial Wizardry ................................................................................................................196 D. 2. Upsurge in Securitisation ...................................................................................................... 197 D. 3. Unexpected Occurrences....................................................................................................... 199 CHAPTER 7. IMPACT OF SECURITISATION.............................................................................