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Ethical banking in practice: a closer look at the Co-operative Bank UK PLC

Author

Listed:
  • Boon Cheong Chew
  • Lay Hong Tan
  • Syaiful Rizal Hamid

Abstract

Purpose - – The main purposes of the study were to investigate the ethical banking operations based on the award-winning the UK Co-operative Bank which has successfully brought significant implications on sustaining the nation’s (the UK) socioenvironmental development. The Co-operative Bank operations are conceptualised into a solid ethical banking operations framework (EBOF) to contribute theoretically into enriching the body of the knowledge. Besides, by understanding the EBOF of an ethical banking system, the other banking players like the Malaysian bank can learn from this best practice and gradually shape its operation to become more ethical. Design/methodology/approach - – The case study on the UK Co-operative Bank was based on primary data collected through a series of qualitative focus group conducted on 20 senior bank managers who were interested and were supportive of this research project. These experienced respondents are actively involved in the Co-operative Bank’s “Corporate Ethical Policy” formulation, as well as the implementation of this policy into the Co-operative Bank’s daily operations. Besides, secondary data are reviewed to obtain a more comprehensive understanding on the Co-operative Bank. The research began in December 2012 and was completed in August 2014. The main reason the researchers opted for qualitative studies is to comply with the criteria of inductive approach, whereby the final outcomes (EBOF) include the crystallisation of the ethical banking operations, which could be generalised theoretically and empirically. Findings - – At the end of the study, EBOF based on the Co-operative Bank’s ethical operations (as the case studied) is constructed. As a conclusion, the Co-operative Bank has done tremendously well in sustaining the UK’s socioenvironmental development, which justifies the reason why the Co-operative Bank has won numerous prestigious awards and is being well recognised nationally and regionally. Practical implications - – The novelty concept of ethical banking is driven by the global socioenvironmental initiative that influences some of the major financial institutions which are proactively and gradually shaping their corporate image in safeguarding the community around the environment. This research has successfully attained the ultimate objective to foster knowledge transfer through learning from the best (from the UK Co-operative Bank) in shaping local (Malaysia) ethical banking. Originality/value - – This study constructs the EBOF based on the Co-operative Bank’s ethical operations that could be empirically disseminated and adopted in other banks’ operations (across the globe). This is aimed in shaping the local banking industry to become more ethical (learning from the best practice of the UK Co-operative Bank) in wealth creation that places high emphasis on socioenvironmental benefits rather than economic gain on profit maximisation alone. Besides, the EBOF contributes and enriches the body of the knowledge about ethical banking operations.

Suggested Citation

  • Boon Cheong Chew & Lay Hong Tan & Syaiful Rizal Hamid, 2016. "Ethical banking in practice: a closer look at the Co-operative Bank UK PLC," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(1), pages 70-91, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:qrfmpp:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:70-91
    DOI: 10.1108/QRFM-02-2015-0008
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Adriana Kocornik-Mina & Ramon Bastida-Vialcanet & Marcos Eguiguren Huerta, 2021. "Social Impact of Value-Based Banking: Best Practises and a Continuity Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-40, July.
    2. Ricardo Costa-Climent & Carla Martínez-Climent, 2018. "Sustainable profitability of ethical and conventional banking," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 12(4), December.
    3. Zsuzsanna Győri & Yahya Khan & Krisztina Szegedi, 2021. "Business Model and Principles of a Values-Based Bank—Case Study of MagNet Hungarian Community Bank," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-27, August.
    4. Nikolas Höhnke, 2020. "Doing Good or Avoiding Evil? An Explorative Study of Depositors’ Reasons for Choosing Social Banks in the Pre and Post Crisis Eras," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-26, December.
    5. Kitamura, Kanji, 2022. "Ethical compatibility of socially responsible banking: Comparing the Japanese main bank system with the USA," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Hamidi, M. Luthfi & Worthington, Andrew C., 2018. "Islamic Social Banking: The Way Forward," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 52(1), pages 179-190.
    7. María del Carmen Valls Martínez & Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes & Sandra Peña Rodríguez, 2021. "Ethical Banking and Poverty Alleviation Banking: The Two Sides of the Same Solidary Coin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, October.
    8. Francisco Climent, 2018. "Ethical Versus Conventional Banking: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-13, June.
    9. Clara Gallego-Sosa & Yakira Fernández-Torres & Milagros Gutiérrez-Fernández, 2020. "Does Gender Diversity Affect the Environmental Performance of Banks?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, December.

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