Dutch tackle public distrust with banking oath

Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, once famously said he believed banks were doing “God’s work”.

Now, the Netherlands is going one step further: starting later this year, all 90,000 Dutch bankers will have to swear an oath that they’ll do their “utmost to maintain and promote confidence in the financial services industry. So help me God”.

It’s part of a major attempt by regulators and banks to clean up after the financial crash of 2008. Just last October, the big Dutch co-operative bank Rabobank paid a $1bn (€730m) fine to settle charges in the Libor rate- fixing scandal.