Lord Mayor: Banks need social contract with public

The Lord Mayor of London will today call on bankers to justify themselves to the public but is urging politicians to stop "banker bashing".

Nick Anstee will warn at a dinner tonight that there is a swell of public anger towards the City that has to be addressed to restore trust.

In a speech to the Guild of International Bankers, he will say: "We fool ourselves if we do not recognise that trust has fundamentally broken down between the British public and the City and my first concern is to help restore that trust, to help re-establish a workable social contract between citizens and the financial services City.

"Things have changed and we have to be better at explaining what we do. And explaining why it matters - not just for money-making, but for society and its future."

But he also calls on politicians to set out a new vision for the place of the City in the UK, and challenges them to stop "banker bashing".

He will say: "We should also remember that politicians of all stripes are content to let responsibility and opprobrium for our economic fragility rest anywhere but on their desks."