Etica e strategia nelle banche

The article analyses the bank strategic approaches to ethics. After making clear the difference between social banking and ethical banking, two main models are described: ethics as a constraint and ethics as a strategy. In the first case the bank is compliant with moral minimum requirements, identified according to the virtue ethics perspective,and it aims to avoid ethical and reputational risk. In the second case, ethical behaviour is a qualifying component of the business model, the moral standards are set at an higher level and their fulfillment becomes a differentiating and competitive factor. Some examples of ethical banks, in this second meaning, are reviewed and the main strategic, organisational, operational and economic characteristics of the model are described.