The shifting corporate culture in the financial services industry: Explaining the emergence of the 'culture of greed' in an Australian Financial Services Company

In Australia in 2018, a Royal Commission investigating misconduct within the financial services sector uncovered systemic problems associated with the provision of financial services. The Commission concluded that the causes of the problems identified lay with the systems and cultures cultivated by the businesses involved. An analysis of the environment in which financial services firms evolved provides greater understandings of corporate behaviour in this regard. The conclusion drawn is that in the post deregulation environment a number of factors combined to produce settings in which undesirable behaviours could occur. Competitive pressures led to unwise business decisions. Associated with this, turnover at the executive level led to a lack of continuity and a loss of corporate memory with its associated value structures. Combined with an emphasis on short term outcomes this resulted in behaviours that were contrary to ethical business codes.