Corporate Governance in the UK and US Banking Industry

Corporate governance refers to a broad range of strategies used to enhance relationships between different stakeholders in an organization (Tarullo, 2008, pp. 22). The concept has become increasingly popular in recent years due to the many ethical scandals that have faced some of the leading organization (Stewart, 2013, pp. 36). As a result, there have been strained relationships between the management, board, investors, customers, and the public. Corporate governance is viewed as the right approach towards regaining the trust among stakeholders and building sustainable business models (Tomasic, 2011, pp. 53).

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Consequently, the concept of corporate banking has also formed a significant part of business research in the past few years. As such, there is a broad range of literature covering how the concept of corporate governance can be adopted and implemented by different organizations in various sectors of the economy (Fernando, 2009, pp. 26). The banking industry in both the UK and the US has relatively been covered. This review uses the case of Barings Bank & Enron to assess how corporate governance is applied in the banking sector in the UK as well as the US.

Corporate governed is critical for the banking industry. This is because of the role that banks play in shaping economic growth in a country (Wilson, Casu, and Molyneux, 2010, pp. 157). When one bank fails, the impact will not only be felt by its stakeholders but by the wider economy (Solomon, 2007, pp. 48). Therefore, corporate governance cannot be overlooked in the banking industry.

According to (Gup, 2007, pp. 86) banks with strong corporate governance values and structure are likely to attract more investors and clients. This is because of the trust they have in the bank that their investments will be safe (Williams, 2005, pp. 2020). Members of the public have also become more discerning and demand better services, transparency, and fairness when engaging with banks (Tricker, 2012, pp. 27). This has made corporate governance a very critical aspect of service delivery in the banking industry in the UK and the US.

Like other corporate entities, banks have to adhere to values and demands of corporate governance (Mallin, 2007, pp. 37). The doctrine of corporate governance covers all businesses; hence, banks have no option but to comply.

References

Fernando, A. C. 2009. Corporate governance: Principles, policies and practices. New Delhi: Pearson Education.

Gup, B. E.2007. Corporate governance in banking: A global perspective. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Mallin, C. A.2007. Corporate governance. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

Solomon, J. 2007. Corporate governance and accountability. Chichester: Wiley.

Stewart, D. Pollard. 2013. Corporate Governance and the Global Financial Crisis. International Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Tarullo D. K. 2008. Banking on Basel. The Future of International Financial Regulation, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington DC.

Tomasic R.2011. The failure of corporate governance and the limits of law, [in:] W. Sun, J.

Tricker, R. I. 2012. Corporate governance: Principles, policies and practices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Williams J., Nguyen N. 2005. Financial liberalisation, crisis, and restructuring: A comparative study of bank performance and bank governance in South East Asia, Journal of Banking and Finance, 29, pp. 2119-2154.

Wilson J.O.S., Casu B., Girardone C., Molyneux P. 2010. Emerging themes in banking: Recent literature and directions for future research, The British Accounting Review, 42, pp. 153-169.