Culture of greed: Banks may be a mirror of society

ONCE upon a time, the parish priest, the bank manager, and the headmaster were numbered the most influential figures in a community.

They typically represented a conservative consensus only the bravest would challenge.

The collapse in vocations and automation means at least two of those actors are no longer active in many communities.

However, and despite so many other voices, their influence lives on.

Some of their self-serving principles have been exposed as investigations into the tracker mortgage scam continue.

It has been shown, even if it has long been understood, that banks have interests that always trump social responsibility.

That predatory attitude has spilled over into many areas of society, among them the charity sector.

“If the banks can do it why can’t we?” runs the entirely valid question.

Charities are not as trusted as they should be and, a new survey shows, the public believes sector salaries are too high.

That assessment, unfortunately, can be applied to nearly any group today.

Chair of the Oireachtas finance committee, John McGuinness, has said “banks have shamed their industry and the country” and that there is a need to break their “disgusting culture” and that the Central Bank is not fit for purpose.

The banks have many questions to answer — and not just on tracker mortgages — but can any of us really say their dishonesty and greed are not a pretty accurate reflection of this society’s mores?

Maybe we get the bankers we deserve too.