In a SPIEGEL interview, London banker and lay preacher Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC, discusses the divide between his Christian faith and the pursuit of profit, the morality of being involved in the subprime mortgage business and whether he and his fellow bankers have learned anything from the financial crisis. SPIEGEL: Mr. Green, when was the last time you were ashamed to be a banker? Green: I haven't felt ashamed when it comes to my own work. However, over the past few years there has been a portion of the global business that was simply unacceptable. Some financial products were much too complicated and not transparent enough. Moreover, they were sold to people who often had no idea what they were buying. This sort of business was very successful for a few years, but it resulted in catastrophe. In this respect, it was disgraceful for all of us. SPIEGEL: You are not just the group chairman of Britain's HSBC, the world's largest private bank. In your free time, you also serve as a lay preacher in the Anglican Church. Have you ever prayed: "Please God, rescue capitalism"? Green: Well, I was certainly never at a point at which I felt that it was so diabolical that it ought to be abolished. All economic systems have their faults and capitalism is the best of a bad bunch -- that is even though, only a year ago...
In a SPIEGEL interview, London banker and lay preacher Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC, discusses the divide between his Christian faith and the pursuit of profit, the morality of being involved in the subprime mortgage business and whether he and his fellow bankers have learned anything from the financial crisis.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Green, when was the last time you were ashamed to be a banker?
Green: I haven't felt ashamed when it comes to my own work. However, over the past few years there has been a portion of the global business that was simply unacceptable. Some financial products were much too complicated and not transparent enough. Moreover, they were sold to people who often had no idea what they were buying. This sort of business was very successful for a few years, but it resulted in catastrophe. In this respect, it was disgraceful for all of us.
SPIEGEL: You are not just the group chairman of Britain's HSBC, the world's largest private bank. In your free time, you also serve as a lay preacher in the Anglican Church. Have you ever prayed: "Please God, rescue capitalism"?
Green: Well, I was certainly never at a point at which I felt that it was so diabolical that it ought to be abolished. All economic systems have their faults and capitalism is the best of a bad bunch -- that is even though, only a year ago...
