Code of Ethics for Commonwealth Bank Australia: Addressing Corruption, Exploitation, and Fraud

Introduction
Code of ethics or code of conduct is considered as a guide that comprises of principles that helps
professionals for conducting their business with integrity and honestly. Code of ethics might
include various areas such as employee code of conduct, code for professional practice and
business ethics. Code of ethics document might contain values of firm, mission, ethics principles
and standards to be upheld by the professionals (Davis, 2002). According to Dill (2019), people
associated with the firm who violate the code of ethics might result in termination. In certain
industries such as finance and banking there are certain laws that govern business conduct. Other
sectors might voluntarily adopt code of ethics. As stated byKitson and Campbell (2017), code of
ethics is established by the top management and is a written statement of norms, beliefs and
values of ethical behaviour. Code of ethics incorporates numerous benefits. This helps in
promoting the values of an organisation, improves reputation. The individual employees’ actions
and behaviour are being guided by code of ethics. Code of ethics should communicate the values
of the firm to its stakeholders. Code of ethics should be beyond just protecting the firm from
unethical actions of employees and mere compliance.
Corruption
Discussion
Corruption is a considered as a behaviour that deviates from duties that are formal and those that
are associated to public role and where private-regarding is given importance where there are
rules against private-regarding (Smith, 2007). Corruption was rife at Commonwealth Bank that
had its root even in the top management. There were plans that were crooked that had stitched up
orphans and widows. This was even being covered up by the management that crooked. Half of
two retirees retirement portfolio had vaporised on them visiting a CBA financial planner (Barker,
2017). Corruption could take various forms such as money laundering, deception, abuse of
power, bribery, cartels, collusion and embezzlement (Loughman and Sibery, 2011). Thus, it
could be seen that there had been corruption in Commonwealth Bank Australia.
Code of ethics

 Corruption in Commonwealth Bank Australia includes activities where an employee acts
against the interest of the firm and abuses their power for personal advantage.
 Corruption right from the lowest management level to top management level is
considered a crime at Commonwealth Bank Australia.
 Any form of corruption such as using deception, bribery, money laundering,
embezzlement, collusion and cartels are strictly prohibited.
 Employees who suspect an individual who is involved in a corruption possesses the
responsibility to report the same to Commonwealth Bank Australia through avenues that
are available for them.
 Receiving or paying gifts, benefits, bribes or even hospitality in return for any activity is
considered as secret commissions by the bank.
 Everyone has the responsibility for acting ethically and honestly and prevent any
corruption and at the same time report the same.
 The top management would do everything in their power for preventing the corruption at
all cost.
 During dilemma the individual should consider their moral duties towards the bank,
community and customers.
Exploitation
Discussion
The term exploitation is not well defined in literature and there are several broad definitions to
exploitation. Exploitation is taking advantage of group of people or someone for profiting from
them. This is also considered as a an act of treating people or using resources unfairly for
benefitting from their labour or efforts (Kohler and Tausch, 2002). Commonwealth Bank hired
Aegon, a telemarketing firm for cold calling customers to try and sell life insurance policies
known as Simple Life. Cold-calling is identified to be a technique used by insurance industry
that targets vulnerable Australians. This is considered to be unethical (Butler, 2019). Exploitation
at workplace includes unreasonable long hours of work, low wages, killing work, exploiting
immigrant workers. All these are labour exploitation and this is also unethical (Johnson, 2006). It
could be seen that Commonwealth Bank has exploited its customers through cold calling