Yesterday, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) andThe Group of Thirty (G30), in association with Barclays Africa,co-hosted a high-level forum to discuss the importance of conduct and cultural reform in the African banking sector. Nearly 100 financial policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders participated inthe forum, which centred around the findings and recommendations from the recent G30 report, ‘Banking Conduct and Culture: A Call for Sustained and Comprehensive Reform.’The G30 report asserts that large scale cultural shifts are required to rebuild public trust and confidence in the global banking industry, and proposes a framework for implementing sustained cultural change, based upon four pillars:1) Senior accountability and governance2) Performance management through sanction and incentives3) Staff development and promotion4) The importance of an effective three lines of defense Sir David Walker, Group of Thirty (G30),said: “Good progress has been made since the financial crisis in strengthening bank balance sheets.  The need is to match this with solid progress towards a restoration of bank culture that commands respect and trust.  This will require sustained effort by individual banks to embrace the right conduct and behaviours which are the necessary ingredient of culture. The G30 report provides guidance on which bank boards, executives and supervisors can draw in this crucially important continuing challenge for banks and society more widely.”The forum featured high-level panel discussions around each of these pillars, and identified practical initiatives that need to be taken forward by regulators, supervisors and the banking industry to entrench a culture of good conduct and ethical decision-making throughout the South African banking system.Daniel Mminele, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank said: “It is very encouraging to note that key steps have already been taken by regulators and financial institutions alike to strengthen behavioural standards in the industry. It is equally encouraging that South Africa’s banking industry, while largely sheltered from the global financial crisis, is embarking on measures to limit the risk of such crises occurring locally. However, a sustained effort is required to implement desired values, behaviours, and address weaknesses in embedding values and promoting adherence to codes of conduct.”Participants discussed how their respective organisations could continue to drive the necessary change to build trust and confidence for the sector overall.Maria Ramos, Chief Executive, Barclays Africa, said:“It is both a moral obligation and an economic imperative to ensure trust and confidence in the banking sector.”Contact:Candice Jeffreys+27 313 4209