Individual wrongdoers within banks must face the threat of being jailed to help change the culture of the scandal-hit sector, a survey by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) shows.

Four out of five of the near 750 respondents to the survey say that making individuals responsible for their actions and face criminal charges is the best way to clean up the industry.

“The only penalty which will really bring people to their senses is for the perpetrators to go to prison,” said one contributor. 

Another said: “It is staggering that given the seriousness of the offences, no one has been jailed and the bonus culture continues apace.”

A further respondent went called for “a bank to be closed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the individuals involved to be sent to prison.”

Of the respondents, 58% feel that bank traders should be held accountable while 22% believe that traders’ managers should take the rap.

A further 9% of those taking part consider that extending the right of clawback to all bankers’ pay and not just bonuses is the most effective solution to end the long line of scandals that have shamed the sector, most recently forex rigging.

Only 5% believe that the regulators imposing ever bigger fines on the banks is the way forward.

The remaining 6% of respondents think that nothing can be done to make banks toe the line and that they will always find new ways to break the rules.

“We welcome recent attempts by the FCA and its fellow regulator the Prudential Regulation Authority to strengthen accountability in banking through a new regulatory framework for individuals," said Simon Culhane, Chartered FCSI and CISI CEO.

“To help reform the banks and restore trust in the sector, we are proposing an annual Certificate of Professionalism which will incorporate several ‘refresher’ tests to demonstrate that competence and integrity are being maintained and built upon, with qualifications, where appropriate, focused on identifying and managing risk.”