Poll: Will Barclays' new value statement change its culture?

The Guardian ran a poll in which it asked "will Barclays' new value statement change the bank's culture".

72% of the respondents answered No.

This result is not surprising as talk is cheap and, after engaging in a series of unacceptable business practices ranging from mis-selling of insurance to manipulating benchmark interest rates, there is very little trust in what Barclays has to say.

Regular readers know that if Barclays was serious about cleaning up and changing its culture it would voluntarily commit to providing ultra transparence and disclose on an ongoing basis its current global asset, liability and off-balance sheet exposure details.

Adopting this disclosure allows sunshine to act as the best disinfectant for past, present and future bad banker behavior.

The fact that Barclays doesn't provide ultra transparency is the equivalent of waving a red flag and saying that Barclays has something to hide.