In view of the current financial crisis, it is hard to grasp the fact that overnight investment banks once regarded the kings of Wall Street, are teetering on the edge of stability. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers threatened the survival of Morgan Stanley which has just declared that following a capital injection it will prepare to become a commercial bank.  Goldman Sachs too has decided to follow an organic acquisition strategy to become a corporate bank. What will this mean for corporate social responsibility in the investment banking sector?

Investment Banks have long been the entrepreneurs of Wall Street. Sure they take risk but then look at the return that they bring. In a capitalistic society, who doesn’t respect the work of an entrepreneur? Time and again they have been instrumental for fueling the economy. A high return on investment has enabled many of the investment banks to show a solid to commitment to corporate social responsibility in the last few years:

• Lehman Brothers partnered with Spelman College a year ago to create a center for Global Finance and Economic Development at the college to prepare women of African descent for successful careers and leadership in the corporate world.
• Morgan Stanley announced last year the creation of the Morgan Stanley Carbon Bank to assist clients seeking to become carbon neutral.
• Goldman Sachs has just announced 10,000 women, a series of non-profit and academic partnerships that provide business an d management education to women in Brazil, India, China and the Philippines.

There has been much question about the Fed refusing to bail Lehman out for a paltry amount in comparison to its subsequent Bailout America plans. Although their claim is that it is not socially responsible to bail out an investment bank with taxpayer dollars, the larger questions lies in that is it socially responsible for the Fed to allow the entrepreneurs of Wall Street to fail when they are actually working to serve society by demonstrating commitment to CSR?

Much as ‘I-Banking’ might be a bad word right now, it must be remembered that for every job held by a (highly paid) investment banker, there have been at least 2-3 jobs created within American households.  I am personally saddened to see the collapse of an industry that has been so integrated with the success of America ad that has shown such an strong commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Contributed by Reenita (www.reenita.com)

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Tags: 10000 women, bailout, Corporate Social Responsbility, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Spelman College

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