The sin of untrustworthy financial behaviour: the American experience, 1985-2010

Abstract

It is the position of this paper that recent financial crises have been amplified, if not created, by the sin of professional financial untrustworthiness. Trust is the bedrock of financial behaviour and without trust, financial markets fail as efficient resource allocators. Sin is identified as ethical failure on a communitywide scale. Between 1985 and 2010, the USA has experienced five major financial crises that have explicitly cost the taxpayer more than all wars since Vietnam. This paper identifies the emphasis on transactions fees as the operational vehicle behind these crises and discusses a few potential remedies.