Oath or solemn affirmation in the financial sector

Every employee of a financial institution must take the bankers' oath. Taking the oath is mandatory for all new and existing bank employees.

What is the banker’s oath?

By taking this oath or solemn affirmation, employees declare that they will work with integrity, diligence, and in accordance with a code of conduct (gedragscode). All employees of financial institutions, including for example investment institutions or credit providers, are subject to the Banking Sector Disciplinary Regulations.

Who must take the oath?

Taking the bankers' oath is mandatory for all employees in the Dutch banking sector. For example, policy makers, supervisory directors, and customer-facing staff. It is also mandatory for employees who can influence the risk profile of the financial institution, such as securities traders. They do so by swearing to abide by the established Code of Conduct. Employees also need to sign a declaration to confirm this. 

Financial institutions are responsible themselves for both taking the oath and registering it. They must also be able to demonstrate that the oath or solemn confirmation was taken and signed. To this end they can, for example, include the signed oath in the personnel file

Code of conduct financial sector

By taking the oath, an employee declares they will follow the Code of Conduct and the disciplinary regulations for the banking sector (Tuchtreglement bancaire sector). If someone working in the financial sector fails to do so, anyone can make a report to the Foundation for Banking Ethics Enforcement (Tuchtrecht Banken, FBEE). The Managing Director will investigate the complaint if the report meets the requirements. If the complaint is justified, you may receive a professional ban, fine, or reprimand, for example.