Character and Virtue in the Nigerian Banking Profession: An Aristotelian Approach to Professional Ethics

This paper examines the applicability of Aristotle’s virtue ethics to the banking profession in Nigeria. It discusses why the moral character of professionals has declined in recent years and also demonstrated how a virtue-based approach can help and deepen professional bankers’ understanding of professional ethics. The profession of banking, like other professions, has codes of conduct or 'professional ethics' designed to ensure good or just practice and to protect clients and members of the public from unjust practice. However, such codes seem insufficient to guarantee conformity to them of individual practitioners. Many recent professional failures and scandals in banking would appear to have been attributable to the failure of personal moral character. Many banking professionals care little about their clients, they have no notion of the public interests, and they are concerned primarily with themselves, their personal interests without regard to professional ethics. Most professional ethicists often emphasize various forms of deontology and utilitarianism approaches. These approaches are too abstract and also neglect personal responsibility and the development of character. Many professionals have difficulty with the application of ethical theory which has conflicting approaches to practical dilemmas that require resolution. It argues that the foundation of the banking profession is moral character; professional bankers cannot separate the issue of trust from their professional calling and the foundation for trust in the banking profession is the character and virtues of honesty, integrity, fairness, trustworthiness, truthfulness, moral courage, and character-friendliness. The paper concludes that these virtuous acts are beneficial and necessary to the banking profession, banks’ customers, banks’ survival, and the nation’s economic growth and development.

Keywords: Aristotelian virtue ethics, Moral character, Virtuous professional banker, Professional ethics, Unethical practices, Professional banker