BANKERS appear to have overtaken estate agents and journalists at the top of ‘Professions You Love To Hate’.

The credit crunch, global economic crisis, rising unemployment and job insecurity have all combined to make the banker ‘Public Enemy Number One’.

Although Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears reluctant to start mixing it with the money men, the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, has lost no time in pouring scorn on the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street.

Obama speaks for many of us who believe the worsening recession and billion pound ‘bail-outs’ have been directly caused by the unregulated speculation and irresponsibility of the financiers.

So it is good to hear of one bank – the Co Op* – which has actually turned away business as a result of its ethical approach.

Since it adopted its ethical policy in 1992, the Co Op has rejected £1billion worth of business from a variety of companies of which it disapproves.

Now, after consulting its customers, it is set to toughen its ethical stance even further by refusing to deal with businesses which deal with, or arm, oppressive regimes; make sell, distribute or sell unethical goods; damage the environment or experiment on animals.

Even the most cynical refugee from the dealing room, cannot deny that the Co Op Bank’s ethical policy has been hugely popular with its customers – and commercially successful.

We wonder what the commercial world would look like if more companies refused to do business with others, purely on ethical grounds?

Perhaps now that we have reaped the whirlwind from the wholly unethical activities of The City, we will in future see other companies paying much more attention to ethical considerations?

And doing business differently.

*Sound Communication banks with the Co Op.