Just do it
In the hot seat we have David Liddy, CEO of the biggest of the second-tier banks in Australia, Bank of Queensland, and his head of Group Strategy, Tarryn McMullen.
David Liddy is a refreshingly straight shooter. This is a rare but welcome trait. Not that he or the bank is perfect, but they are at least striving for a balance of integrity and corporate responsibility along with shareholder returns. I remember reading about a recent lawsuit, where disgruntled branch owners under Bank of Queensland’s franchise model, are suing the bank for having too tight a credit criteria in customer evaluations, which they say hindered their ability to grow the business. That, I thought, is far from condemnation in a world gone mad with the cheap and too-freely available credit at the heart of the GFC.
For all my bleating about banks, it is a pleasure to bring a good story about one. I sincerely welcome more if they are out there. Hello? Anyone?
Anyway, I sat down with David and Tarryn to discuss the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility. Despite the fact the conversation took place late last year, the commentary is perhaps even more relevant with time, due to the complete lack of social responsibility demonstrated throughout the banking industry worldwide of late.
David and Tarryn are fearlessly frank in a discussion that drives home the point that CSR is not, ideally, a function of the marketing department, but simply a way of doing business.
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Category: Hot Seat, Reputation Management
