Making bankers behave...

has a cost, as Augar notes in the FT, reacting to the letter from Barclays' new boss that signals a push to reform the business culture and ethic of banking at Barclays. It is costly for Barclays, but it is also costly for the society as a whole, for the behaviors of a few discredit an entire profession whose activity requires social trust. 

Culture shift is a long and painful process though and it is still not very clear how to make value statement stick. More importantly though, if these kind of sporadic moves at the firm level are not accompanied by clear and simple signals at the state level, it risks being simply windows dressing. Yet,  it seems that the contrary is happening.  Financial regulation is getting more and more complex, but basic rule of law is being eroded, as noted in previously here. The latest case in point is HSBC deal with US government over charges of money laundering for mexican drug barons and terrorist groups and advices to Iran on how to avoid US sanctions. 

After too big to fail and too big to regulate: too big to jail.