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Part of
Manufacturing Dissent: Manipulation and counter-manipulation in times of crisis
Edited by Cornelia Ilie
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 339] 2024
► pp. 284–307

Chapter 9
Lessons learned?

The role of conventional arguments in avoiding blame and rebuilding trust in banking after the financial crisis

| University of Navarra

The 2008 financial crisis severely undermined public trust in banking systems, prompting calls for widespread reform. However, irregularities continued, leading to a further succession of scandals over the following years. We should therefore ask how banks justified the catastrophe and their failure to reform. This chapter examines two large UK-based banks: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and HSBC. All the “letters to shareholders” published in their Annual Reports over 15 years are examined for commonplace arguments or “topoi” offered as justifications for their failure to comply with ethical standards. Five typical recurring arguments are analysed, with a particular focus on their use in subtle manipulations of public opinion to draw attention away from the scale and impact of corporate wrongdoing.

Keywords: topoi, banking, trust, financial crisis, CEO letter
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
  • 3.Sample and method
  • 4.Analysis
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 17 January 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.339.09bre
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