The bad reputation of the banking industry is negatively affecting the sector’s ability to recruit young people, the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has claimed.
Speaking at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School on 13 May, António Horta-Osório said that it was vital to the long-term viability of the banking sector that “the brightest and the best” see it as a long-term career choice. But this meant urgently addressing young people’s bad perceptions of the industry.
Separate research from Lloyds has revealed that banking could be suffering from a potential talent drain since over a quarter of students (28%) surveyed would be too embarrassed to tell their friends if they would be going to work in a bank. Meanwhile, 41% of respondents distrusted banks and financial services providers.
Overall, respondents were more likely to choose a career in the public sector (26%) rather than banking/financial services (2%) and over half of students (58%) said that an organisation’s reputation would influence their career decision.
“The next generation should see banking as an industry that helps to build economic wealth and is playing its part as a useful member of our local communities,” Horta-Osório said.
Sally Percy is editor of The Treasurer