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Rewards for good behaviour
Sales incentive schemes are something of a pet project for Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive designate Martin Wheatley.
It began last September, when Wheatley stood in front of a room full of senior bankers, compliance officers, financial journalists and consumer groups in Canary Wharf. "Banks for me used to be a service – a place where you would go in, stand in a queue, have a pleasant chat with the clerk and go about your daily business," he said. "Some time ago, this changed – financial institutions have changed their view of consumers from someone to serve to someone to sell to."
With the manipulation of Libor and the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and interest rate swaps very much fresh in people’s minds, the message was loud and clear: a cultural shift was needed in the way financial services firms do business, and part of that change was how sales staff were rewarded.