A ‘toxic’ and ‘rotten’ culture inside British retail banks that led to scandals will take a generation to undergo a radical overhaul, finds a joint study by independent think tank New City Agenda and Cass Business School.

According to the report, the toxic sales culture which engulfed retail banking over two decades saw staff in some branches getting cash bonuses, iPods, or tickets to Wimbledon for attaining sales targets.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The report estimates that scandals created from poor bank culture have cost banks and building societies at least £38.5bn in penalties and redress, with at least £27bn of the penalties due to mis-selling of personal protection insurance.

The high-margin products were aimed to cover repayments if customers fell ill or were jobless but were often sold to consumers who were ineligible to claim or did not require them.

It was further found that banks have received 20.8 million complaints following the financial meltdown.

Professor Andre Spicer, of the Cass Business School, said that a few banks have made some progress in changing the aggressive sales culture.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

"Regulation has improved, and big banks have all implemented new programmes to improve their cultures. Smaller banks and challenger banks are beginning to offer the customer real choice, and often have healthier cultures," said Spicer.

However, he added that some culture-change measures are short-lived, and a plenty of work still needs to be done.

The think tank recommended that the new Banking Standards Review Council (BSRC), launched this year, should talk to branch staff to see that they are not under sales pressure and should report to the parliament’s Treasury Committee annually.