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Some Ethical Dilemmas with Modern Banking

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  • Bagus, Philipp
  • Howden, David

Abstract

How ethical have recent banking practices been? We answer this question via an economic analysis. We assess the two dominant practices of the modern banking system – fractional reserves and maturity transformation – by gauging the respective rights of the relevant parties. By distinguishing the legal and economic differences between deposit and loan contracts we determine that the practice of maturity transformation (in its various guises) is not only ethical, but also serves a positive social function. The foundation of the modern banking system – the holding of fractional reserves against deposits – is, however, problematic from economic, legal and ethical angles. Starting from a microanalysis of money´s function, a reassessment of the current laws concerning the practice is encouraged, with the aim not only to rectify economic irregularities, but also to realign depositors’ rights with the obligations of the banking sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Bagus, Philipp & Howden, David, 2013. "Some Ethical Dilemmas with Modern Banking," MPRA Paper 79599, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:79599
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Howden, 2010. "Knowledge shifts and the business cycle: When boom turns to bust," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 165-182, June.
    2. Donaldson, Thomas, 2008. "Hedge Fund Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 405-416, July.
    3. Xavier Freixas & Jean-Charles Rochet, 2008. "Microeconomics of Banking, 2nd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262062704, December.
    4. Philipp Bagus & David Howden, 2012. "The Continuing Continuum Problem of Deposits and Loans," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 295-300, March.
    5. Charles P. Kindleberger & Robert Z. Aliber, 2005. "Manias, Panics and Crashes," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-0-230-62804-5.
    6. Leland Yeager, 2010. "Bank reserves: A dispute over words and classification," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 183-191, June.
    7. William Barnett & Walter Block, 2011. "Rejoinder to Bagus and Howden on Borrowing Short and Lending Long," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(2), pages 229-238, May.
    8. Ryan, Lori Verstegen & Dennis, Bryan, 2003. "The Ethical Undercurrents of Pension Fund Management: Establishing a Research Agenda," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 315-335, July.
    9. Philipp Bagus & David Howden, 2009. "The Legitimacy of Loan Maturity Mismatching: A Risky, but not Fraudulent, Undertaking," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(3), pages 399-406, December.
    10. Philipp Bagus, 2008. "Monetary policy as bad medicine: The volatile relationship between business cycles and asset prices," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 21(4), pages 283-300, December.
    11. Bagus, Philipp & Howden, David, 2010. "The Term Structure of Savings, the Yield Curve, and Maturity Mismatching," MPRA Paper 79592, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Paul Shum & Sharon Yam, 2011. "Ethics and Law: Guiding the Invisible Hand to Correct Corporate Social Responsibility Externalities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(4), pages 549-571, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Bagus & David Howden & Jesús Huerta de Soto Ballester, 2018. "Entrepreneurial Error Does Not Equal Market Failure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 433-441, May.
    2. Surendra Arjoon & Alvaro Turriago-Hoyos & Ulf Thoene, 2018. "Virtuousness and the Common Good as a Conceptual Framework for Harmonizing the Goals of the Individual, Organizations, and the Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 143-163, January.
    3. Howden, David, 2016. "A Refinement to the Typology of “Goods”," MPRA Paper 79799, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Bagus, Philipp & Howden, David, 2016. "Central Bank Balance Sheet Analysis," MPRA Paper 79801, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Bagus, Philipp & Gabriel, Amadeus & Howden, David, 2014. "Causes and Consequences of Inflation," MPRA Paper 79608, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Henry Egbezien Inegbedion & Emmanuel Inegbedion & Samuel Osifo & Sarah Adeyemi, 2021. "Ethical dilemma at work: the viewpoint of bank marketers in Nigeria," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(1), pages 24-33, March.
    7. Howden, David, 2013. "The Quantity Theory of Money," MPRA Paper 79601, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. David Howden & Amadeus Gabriel, 2015. "The Interest Rate Brake on Maturity Transformation," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 1100-1111, October.
    9. Philipp Bagus & Amadeus Gabriel & David Howden, 2018. "On the Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Legitimate Banking Contracts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 669-678, February.
    10. Laura Davidson, 2015. "Ethical Differences Between Loan Maturity Mismatching and Fractional Reserve Banking: A Natural Law Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 9-18, September.
    11. Philipp Bagus & Amadeus Gabriel & David Howden, 2016. "Reassessing the Ethicality of Some Common Financial Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 471-480, July.
    12. Philipp Bagus & David Howden & Amadeus Gabriel, 2017. "The Hubris of Hybrids," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 373-382, October.
    13. Michael Pirson, 2020. "A Humanistic Narrative for Responsible Management Learning: An Ontological Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 775-793, April.
    14. Philipp Bagus & David Howden, 2023. "Consumer rights and banking contracts," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(1), pages 105-114, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    banking; fraud; fractional reserves; maturity transformation; natural law; loan and deposit contracts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy

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