Ethics in Banking: Is It Possible?

Description

Banks are frequently considered usurers. Is it possible to talk about ethics when you analyse banking activity? This book focuses on this question and starts with the history and the philosophy. Philosophers like Aristotle, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill proposed different theories about the need for ethics in finance. If we accept Mill's thought, the production of wealth in society is driven by the personal pursuit of profit. But - unfortunately - this does not, on its own, ensure collective well-being. It must be guided by a superior mechanism which transforms it into wealth for all. This introduces the role of financial institutions, which often have to comply with legal obligations. The book focuses on the role that these institutions have in supporting the ‘ethical’ use of money. The author analyses a number of cases in banks and the financial industry and discusses topics like anti-money laundering, anti-usury, islamic finance, microcredit and bank rescue systems, including not only best practices but also examples of unethical financial management. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction References Chapter 2: Ethics in Finance: Definition 2.1 Definition 2.2 The Research Aim 2.3 The Historical Origins 2.4 The Need for Ethics in Finance 2.5 The Ethical Bank 2.5.1 Aristotle 2.5.2 Immanuel Kant 2.5.3 John Stuart Mill 2.6 What About the Italian banks? 2.6.1 MAGs References Chapter 3: The ESG World 3.1 The History of Banca Etica 3.2 The Goals of Banca Etica 3.3 Banca Etica´s Operations 3.4 Etica Sgr 3.5 The History of ESG Funds 3.6 ESG Criteria: Where Ethical Funds Invest 3.7 The Operation of ESG Funds 3.7.1 Legislation 3.7.2 Screening 3.7.3 Ethical Advisors 3.7.4 Ethical Index 3.8 Global Market Values 3.9 The Italian Case 3.10 Criticism of ESG Funds References Chapter 4: The Fight Against Money Laundering and Tax Evasion 4.1 Money Laundering: History and Development Stages 4.2 Anti-money Laundering Legislation 4.3 Italian Anti-money Laundering Legislation 4.3.1 Passive Collaboration 4.3.2 Active Collaboration 4.3.3 The Limit to the Circulation of Cash 4.3.4 New Regulations 4.4 Tax Evasion 4.4.1 Tax Havens: The LuxLeaks and Panama Papers Cases 4.4.2 Whistle-blowers 4.5 The Fight Against Tax Evasion: The TAXE Commission 4.6 International Market Values 4.7 Figures in Italy References Chapter 5: The Fight Against Usury 5.1 Usury: Definition and Legislation 5.2 When to Be Afraid of Usury: The Credit Trend 5.3 The Threshold Rate 5.3.1 OER 5.3.1.1 Consumer Credit and Mortgages 5.3.1.2 Current Account Credit Line 5.3.2 Objections 5.4 Anti-usury Funds 5.4.1 The Solidarity Fund 5.4.2 The Prevention Fund 5.5 The Italian Data 5.5.1 Access to the Prevention Fund 5.5.2 Fund Allocation 5.5.3 The Monitoring of Contributions Disbursed 5.5.4 Regulatory Innovations References Chapter 6: Islamic Finance and Microcredit 6.1 Microcredit: History and Characteristics 6.2 The Grameen Bank 6.3 Reflections and Criticism 6.4 Microcredit in Italy 6.5 Islamic Finance: History and Basic Principles 6.6 The Islamic Bank 6.6.1 Funding 6.6.2 The Use of Funds 6.7 Islamic Securities 6.8 Islamic Insurance 6.9 Islamic Microcredit 6.10 Data on Islamic Finance: In the World and in Italy References Chapter 7: The Rescue of Banks in Crisis 7.1 Literature on the Banking Crises 7.2 The History of Banking Instability in Italy 7.2.1 More Recent History 7.3 Balance Sheet Figures 7.4 The Rescue Instruments: The Bail-Out and the Bail-In 7.4.1 The New Solution: The Bail-Over 7.5 Bad Banks 7.6 Final Considerations References Chapter 8: Financial Frauds: Is Italy Different? References Chapter 9: Conclusions