On the Social Responsibility of Banking

I feel that a precise definition of the “abstract concept” of social responsibility is all the more important when we are talking about social responsibility in banking, because there is a sort of oral tradition in banking which suggests that banking fulfils its social responsibility by supporting and promoting certain artistic and cultural activities. Thus, financing exhibitions, purchasing works of art, or providing economic support for scientific research are the material manifestations of what could be interpreted as social responsibility. This idea probably originates from the behaviour patterns of some American banks, especially Chase Manhattan in the glorious days of the patronage of the Rockefeller family. Our own Banco Urquijo was, at one time, another brilliant characteristic example of this type of action (“a humanist bank”). However, it is — at the very least — risky to believe that this type of action covers the social responsibility of financial institutions.