"Tipping the Balance: Collective Action by Finance Workers Creates 'Regulation From Below'"

Authors: Lerner, Berlofa, McGrath, and Klemmer

Ten years after the last big financial crisis, major players in the global financial sector continue to dominate markets, neutralize regulation and jeopardize economies with illicit, reckless and sometimes illegal financial practices. While debates abound over regulatory oversight of large banks and the best methods of safeguarding consumers and economies, little attention has been paid to the role that the nearly eight million commercial bank employees in the global banking sector might play to foster better banking practices. Instead of relying on legal and supervisory systems to take on the entire task of financial regulation “from above”, this paper argues that employees of banks and financial institutions can collectively assist regulatory efforts “from below”. In so doing, the authors argue, they build safeguards for their own jobs against the incentivization of excessive or fraudulent sales and help to create a more stable and sustainable global financial system.