Banking Compliance and Dependence Corruption: Towards an Attachment Perspective

37 Pages Posted: 8 Mar 2014

See all articles by Kate Kenny

Kate Kenny

Harvard University - Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics

Date Written: March 6, 2014

Abstract

Why did banking compliance fail so badly in the recent financial crisis and why, according to many, does it continue to do so? Rather than point to the lack of oversight of individuals in bank compliance roles, as many commentators do, in this paper I examine in depth the organizational context that surrounded people in such roles. I focus on those compliance personnel who did speak out about risky practices in their banks, who were forced to escalate the problem and “whistle-blow” to external parties, and who were punished for doing so. Drawing on recent empirical data from a wider study, I argue that the concept of dependence corruption is useful in this setting, and that it can be extended to encompass interpersonal attachments. This, in turn, problematizes the concept of dependence corruption because interpersonal attachments in organizational settings are inevitable. The paper engages with recent debates on whether institutional corruption is an appropriate lens for studying private sector organizations by arguing for a focus on roles, rather than remaining at the level of institutional fields or individual organizations. Finally, the paper contributes to studies on banking compliance in the context of the recent crisis; without a deeper understanding of those who were forced to extremes to simply do their jobs, reform of the banking sector will prove difficult.

Keywords: Organization studies, compliance, institutional corruption, psychoanalytic theory, banking, finance

Suggested Citation

Kenny, Kate, Banking Compliance and Dependence Corruption: Towards an Attachment Perspective (March 6, 2014). Edmond J. Safra Working Paper No. 38, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2405615 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2405615

Kate Kenny (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics ( email )

124 Mount Auburn Street
Suite 520N
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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