The former Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, hits out at bankers over the financial crisis

Jun 21 2010 by James Cartledge, Birmingham Mail

THE former head of Birmingham’s Catholic community has blasted bankers for putting quick profits ahead of their duties to society.

Ex-Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols, who is now Archbishop of Westminster, said: “A market mentality which focused relentlessly on the search for ever greater and quicker profits, exploiting to the full the regulatory opportunities available, allowed many to lend and deal recklessly.

“It is now widely acknowledged that underlying the banking crisis was the gradual erosion of the duty of service to society.”

Writing in a Sunday newspaper, the Archbishop said ethical leadership was needed in the financial sector.

He added: “There also needs to be clarity of process so we understand and are as involved as possible in a process that will affect us all.”