Banks have deployed an array of metrics, from their core Tier 1 equity ratios to returns on risk-weighted assets, to woo stakeholders and compete for business. Now, there is a case to suggest having top-notch standards could prove just as useful in yielding a competitive edge.

While public and regulatory scrutiny of banking culture and ethics remains firmly centre-stage in the post-crisis debate, much of the focus has been on the need to rectify low standards and past mistakes. HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver today raised the idea that instilling best-in-class standards could be more than a repair job and offer a "competitive advantage" to banks that achieve them.