Banker’s Oath ineffective, two-thirds don’t believe in it

Two thirds of the people who took the Banker's Oath, do not believe that they actually also have to adhere to it, according to a study among 800 bankers by Tom Loonen of the Vrije Universiteit and Mark Rutgers of the University of Amsterdam. The Dutch government decided to implement the banker's oath after the financial crisis. The oath is a legal requirement for all employees who work in bank. The researchers decided to study whether this oath had any positive effect. They found that there is not much trust in the Banker's Oath, with bank employees in particular being opposed to it. Many employees do not even know what they are swearing to when they take the oath. The researchers conclude that the Banker's Oath is "merely the capstone in an attempt to promote integrity and restore confidence in the financial sector. At this moment, the banker's oath is not a professional oath, and though legally required is also not a political oath that is taken before the government." According to Loonen, everyone wants the same thing - a financial sector you can trust in. "But however you look at it, if you as government mandate that an individual says yes to a promise, there must be sufficiently autonomous impact on the outcome", he said to BNR, adding that this is obviously lacking.