In this exclusive interview, Rik Coeckelbergs, founder of The Banking Scene, reflects on two decades of change in European banking and why banks must stay human in a digital world.
At UNCHAIN, the fortress is just the setting. The real story is the people. Finance Legends is a series that highlights the people shaping finance in Central and Eastern Europe. Each edition focuses on a leader whose work influences how banks, fintechs, and regulators think and act. This time, that spotlight is on Rik Coeckelbergs, a voice that has become familiar across Europe for bringing bankers and innovators together and keeping questions of trust and values at the centre of the conversation.
Rik Coeckelbergs has spent the past decade turning conversations about banking into a career. Known across Europe as a moderator, writer, and community builder, he usually asks the questions that others tend to avoid. With his latest book, A New Ethos in Banking, he’s pushed the debate even further, challenging banks to look beyond quarterly results and reconnect with the values that once defined them. In a time when the industry is still trying to balance digital speed with human trust, Rik has become one of the voices reminding us that finance is, at its core, about people.
You’ve spent years observing and moderating conversations across Europe’s banking scene. What’s the biggest shift you’ve noticed in how banks approach their role in society?
It’s fascinating how banks have approached their role in society, because it often mirrors how society views them. After the global financial crisis and the digital shake-up that followed, banks were on the defensive. They were seen as greedy, slow, and out of touch — bailed out by the public but not giving much back. Whether or not that was fair, it shaped how people looked at them, and banks had to carry that perception.
Between those years of playing defence, there was another challenge. As Rik points out, banks had to accept their position as “semi-public institutions.” That meant more than balancing the books. It meant financing the economy to keep jobs alive, investing in the green transition, and pouring money into digital projects. That had to happen while making sure those who struggled with new technology weren’t left behind.
Do you feel like that perception is finally changing?
What I now observe is that banks are gradually recovering from this negative perception, after twenty years, and are adopting a more proactive societal role. Banks are resisting non-productive regulations, recognising the digital divide, and launching initiatives to keep every consumer engaged.
And what about sustainability? That’s become a defining part of banks’ responsibilities.
We can’t ignore it. Sustainability has evolved alongside geopolitics, with investments in the defence industry serving as a striking example. This used to be a clear “no” for many institutions when defining ESG safe investments; today, the landscape has changed significantly.
After years of moderating conversations, Rik decided to capture some of those ideas in writing. What began as a series of events around “ethos in banking” grew into a book that pushes the debate further, asking banks to reconnect with values that go beyond short-term performance.
Your latest book, A New Ethos in Banking: Embracing Values and Ethics for a Meaningful Transformation, explores values in the financial sector. What inspired you to write it now, and what response has surprised you the most so far?
Back in 2023, we organised three events centred on “Ethos in Banking,” where numerous CEOs and other executives shared their interpretations of ethos and their visions of its significance for the industry. It was fresh and presented banking within a context I had not encountered before. That is why I wanted to continue that dialogue through a series of interviews, which eventually culminated in the book now available worldwide.
From my observations, the banking industry has somewhat lost its original character by merely copying successful strategies from others. The book is not primarily about ethics but about translating a bank’s ethical principles into its daily operations and transformation efforts, whether that involves digital innovation, sustainable practices, or other forms of change.
Beyond the events that inspired it, Rik describes the book as a call to action, a push for banks to bring their identity and values back into the heart of transformation. That message has resonated. Readers have praised the work for putting trust and social contracts at the centre of banking’s future, and for highlighting the intersection of ethics, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership.
When you talk about an ‘ethos’ in banking, what does that mean in practice for a traditional bank trying to modernise?
Embracing an ethos in banking means going beyond digital transformation to embed a deep, values-driven culture across the institution. For a traditional bank, it’s about reconnecting with its foundational purpose: helping customers and communities thrive, not just processing transactions or selling products.
In practice, this starts by articulating a clear long-term mission, one that resonates internally and externally. Ethos demands a shift from quarterly performance to generational relevance, anchored in trust, empathy, and responsibility.
And what role does technology play in this?
Critically, an ethos-driven transformation humanises technology. Digital banking often failed to connect with customers emotionally. Banks must now infuse empathy into design, ensuring services are inclusive and meaningful, particularly for vulnerable groups.
That requires leadership to set the tone, right?
Leadership plays a crucial role. Ethos isn’t about slogans but about behaviour, especially when no one is watching. As Cor Herkströter put it, “principles that change every year become worthless for employees.” Consistency in values through leadership transitions is essential.
Ethos also changes how banks think about compliance. It’s not enough to tick boxes. The shift is from doing only what is legally allowed to doing what is right. Rik stresses that “For traditional banks, modernisation with ethos is not optional. It’s how they remain trusted, human, and meaningful in a digital world.”
Through The Banking Scene, you’ve built a strong community around banking innovation. What’s one lesson you’ve learned from curating all those dialogues?
All these people act with the best intentions within their own context. Often, changing a bank is less about the individuals and more about the environment they operate in, whether that is culture, leadership, work methods or the bank’s identity, in short: its ethos.
That also means the same question will spark very different answers, depending on the bank. For Rik, this diversity is what makes real change possible. The Banking Scene is a platform for people to share their stories to help others re-evaluate the status quo.
Have you noticed differences between smaller and larger banks?
Yes. Smaller banks are often modest in taking the stage, although they are often the heroes that successfully drive change with much fewer resources, and remain a relevant competitor for the big players. That is often underestimated in my opinion. They may innovate less, but be much more focused on developing the right services.
Looking ahead, Rik suggests the bigger challenge is not just about the size of institutions, but about their relevance. It’s a theme he’s already planning to put at the centre of The Banking Scene’s 2025 agenda, and it connects to questions of technology, risk, and even sustainability.
What do you see as the next big conversation the industry isn’t having yet, but should be?
Anything from digital transformation to societal and economic relevance in a world that seems to be embracing some aspects of the free banking era again, with the rise of stablecoins. I’m not just talking about payments, but also the impact of stablecoins on banks’ credit policies, etc.
The relevance of banks is also being challenged in fraud prevention. The rise of AI is completely reshaping how fraud is committed and how it should be countered. What should banks do here? The same applies to the responsible use of AI, not only within banks but also in interactions with the outside world. What happens when I start using an AI agent to manage my finances, and what is the role of a bank in that context?
Sustainability is part of that same conversation. As Rik points out, climate change already leaves a mark on the balance sheets of banks and insurers. The question is how much further the sector should go in keeping responsibility high on the agenda, and in pushing society to act on it.
Against that backdrop of relevance, risk, and responsibility, it’s no surprise that the events Rik values most are the ones that open space for honest dialogue, events like UNCHAIN.
You’ve been to countless fintech events. What stood out to you about UNCHAIN?
What made UNCHAIN different was that it really felt like a festival, not just another conference. Beyond the panels, there were informal moments – pre-drinks, the evening concert, even a city tour — that created space for genuine dialogue. The setting, a fortress in Romania at the crossroads of Eastern Europe, gave it a distinctive energy, and the organisation was seamless. It brought together regulators, banks, and innovators in a way that felt open and collaborative.
That mix of structured debate and informal exchange is exactly what Rik has tried to foster throughout his own work. He never approached banking as just numbers and regulations. Through his activities (from moderating debates to writing about values and ethos), he’s shown that finance is inseparable from the society it serves. The Banking Scene has become his way of keeping that dialogue alive, drawing together voices from across Europe to ask what relevance, trust, and responsibility really mean in 2025.
At a time when the industry is reshaped by AI, sustainability pressures, and shifting geopolitics, Rik’s message is a reminder that banks are more than institutions. They are part of the social fabric, and their future depends on whether they can stay human while adapting to change.
