Ethics considers what is right and wrong and whether conduct by individuals and organisations is good or bad. Ethical issues are bound to arise in capitalist systems because the objectives of business enterprises are usually defined in relation to maximising shareholder value, which may in turn create wealth but have various consequences to other individual and groups.XYZ Bank has to deal with a wide range of stakeholders, i.e those who affect and can be affected by the organisation’s decisions and actions. Thus, by maximising the welfare of one group, it may compromise the objectives of others. Therefore, in practise it is usually impossible to act in a manner that is regarded as ‘right’ by all.

Deontological Ethics is concerned with ethics based on duty. This approached is most relevant to ethics in banking, as most codes of conduct are based on duties prescribed by regulatory bodies and professional institutes. It is noted that financial services rulebooks, such as FCA sourcebooks, include not only regulations but also guidelines on how individuals and firms should act in certain situations.