Inside Banking Professionalism 360: two days of challenge, conversation and connection

4 November 2026
Thought Leadership Insights | News | Special Reports | Thought Leadership Insights

For two days, Banking Professionalism 360 created a space where students sat alongside senior leaders, academics exchanged perspectives with practitioners, and delegates from across the globe explored a question that touches every stage of a career: what does it mean to be a professional in a changing world?

Across keynote addresses, panel discussions and audience debate, perspectives differed, assumptions were challenged and ideas were tested. Yet a common theme emerged throughout: professionalism is not defined by title or position, but by the choices we make every day.

Professionalism in practice

Opening the programme, the first virtual panel, The Changing Nature of Professionalism, set the stage for many of the conversations that followed.

Panellists explored how professionalism is evolving in response to technological advances, shifting customer expectations and new ways of working. While the context may be changing, the discussion repeatedly returned to the human qualities that cannot be replaced by technology.

Watch the full recording of The Changing Nature of Professionalism panel featuring Tanya Retter FCBI (Chief Executvie Officer, Chartered Banker Institute), Goretti Masadde( Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services), Chris Whitehead FAICD FCBI FCSI (Non-Executive Director, IMB Bank; Choice), Olga Ushakova (Head of Customer Experience, PUMB) Professor Rob Garlick (Visiting Professor at the Future of Work Centre, University of Surrey)

The qualities that matter

As conversations moved between AI, leadership and accountability, discussion increasingly focused on these qualities and what it means to be a professional in practice.

Speakers approached the theme from different perspectives, but each offered practical insights into how professionals can navigate an increasingly complex environment.

Andrew Wilson (Director of Communications, Marketing & Responsible Banking, Santander UK) encouraged delegates to remain curious, as technology becomes more embedded in everyday work, he argued that professionals must continue to question, verify and think critically. The real risk, he suggested, is not that technology does the thinking for us, but that we stop challenging assumptions ourselves.

Pam Kaur (CFO, HSBC) highlighted the importance of continuous learning and reverse mentoring. Seeking out perspectives different from our own, helps leaders remain relevant, while adaptability, emotional intelligence and the confidence to challenge established thinking will become increasingly important in a changing profession.

Dame Debbie Crosbie DBE FCBI (Chief Executive Officer, Nationwide) echoed those themes, encouraging those building their careers to keep learning, stay close to customers and ask the awkward question when something does not look right.

"You do not need a particular job title to uphold a professional standard."

For delegates at different stages of their careers, the message was consistent: professionalism is not reserved for those in senior positions. It is demonstrated through everyday actions, sound judgement and the willingness to do the right thing.

Trust as the profession's load-bearing wall

If professionalism provided the foundation for many of the conversations, trust emerged as the golden thread connecting them.

Whether the discussion centred on leadership, technology, judgement or organisational culture, conversations repeatedly returned to how trust is earned, maintained and sometimes rebuilt. As Ian Stuart (Group Customer & Culture Director, HSBC) reflected in his opening remarks, trust remains the "load-bearing wall" of banking, an idea that echoed throughout the event.

Dame Debbie Crosbie argued that trust is built through consistency, reliability and doing the right thing, even when it is difficult or costly. Reflecting on the role of technology in financial services, she also emphasised the importance of preserving customer choice and ensuring people can access human support when they need it.

Opening the second day of the conference, Mark Hoban HonFCBI (Chair, Pay.UK; Financial Skills Services Commission) reflected that trust still depends on judgement, communication and the ability to challenge and explain complex outcomes. The professionals who thrive, he suggested, will combine technological capability with strong interpersonal skills.

Building on that theme, the Day 2 panel, The Changing Nature of Trust, brought together perspectives from banking, academia and professional education to explore what makes individuals, organisations and professions worthy of trust.

One of the discussion's most memorable contributions came from Dame Susan Rice DBE FCBI, who challenged delegates to apply a simple "granny test": would you be comfortable explaining that decision to your grandmother?

Watch the full recording of The Changing Nature of Trust panel featuring Dame Susan Rice DCBE FCBI (Chair, Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) Steering Group), Professor Tina Harrison (Professor of Financial Services Marketing and Consumption, University of Edinburgh Business School), Matt Rawlings FCBI (Director of Membership and Education, Chartered Banker Institute) Professor Moorad Choudhry (Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Risk Committee at SBUK Ltd, and Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics, Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine), Nailesh Shah (Head of Digital Platform and New Capabilities, Digital Growth Citibank Hong Kong

Shaping the future

Sarah Gillard encouraged delegates to reflect on how trust can be measured in practice. Rather than defining success solely through financial performance or productivity, she challenged participants to think about purpose, values and the impact organisations have on customers, communities and society.

That raised a broader question: if those outcomes matter just as much, what role should technology play in helping to achieve them? What kind of future should it help create? Who benefits?

Bringing together many of the themes that emerged across the two days, the discussion highlighted that the challenge is not simply what technology can achieve, but what ends it should serve, for whose benefit and under what conditions.

Celebrating excellence

After a day spent exploring the behaviours, values and decisions that underpin professionalism, the Celebration of Success highlighted those principles in action, recognising the achievements and commitment of individuals across the profession.

The evening recognised achievement across the Institute's qualifications and programmes, including the inaugural Ian Hardcastle Prize for excellence in corporate and commercial lending.

The winners of the Institute's 150th anniversary essay competition were recognised for their reflections on what professionalism means today. The evening also welcomed a new cohort of Fellows, recognising their sustained commitment to professional standards, leadership and service to the profession.

The celebration also saw Dame Debbie Crosbie DBE FCBI receive the Chartered Banker Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming only the fifth recipient of the honour.

Read more about Dame Debbie's Lifetime Achievement Award

View the full list of subject prize and award winners

Read the winning 150th anniversary essay entries and meet the winners

Congratulations to everyone whose achievements were recognised during the Celebration of Success.

The conversation continues

Closing the event, Tanya Retter left delegates with a final reflection:

"What will we all each do differently as a result of all the conversations we have heard and been part of?"

It's a question that extends beyond the conference itself. Whether you joined us in London, participated online or are reading about the event for the first time, Banking Professionalism 360 demonstrated the value of bringing different perspectives into one conversation. The future of professionalism will not be shaped by any single organisation, technology or leader, but by the collective choices made across the profession every day.

Thank you to our speakers, delegates, global online community and sponsor, the University of Exeter, for helping make Banking Professionalism 360 such a rich and thought-provoking event.

Missed a session, or want to revisit the discussions?

Watch all Banking Professionalism 360 session recordings.