ABSTRACT
As the banking system goes through an historical crisis and a succession of scandals, the public and observers are asking questions about banking practices and the ethics of the financial sector, both of which seem to be in dissonance with the concept of democracy. This chapter aims to clarify the evolution of banking practices by looking back at the development of the profession of banker since the nineteenth century. This consists of outlining the societal functions of bankers understood as a contribution to the collective economic interest.
