IntroductionIn September 2008, the stock market collapsed. The bursting of the US housing bubble caused the value of securities linked to US housing prices to fall, damaging global financial markets. The complex relationship between policies that encourage homeownership, facilitate access to credit, the overvaluation of toxic subprime mortgages, questionable business practices, and compensation structures that prioritize short-term profit over that the creation of long-term sustainable value triggered a financial crisis that has still not been resolved. resolved. Global financial markets were in collapse. The consequences of the 2008 financial crisis are considerable. Not only has this damaged the financial services sector itself, but also governments. But individuals were the worst off. As one financial organization after another collapsed, people lost their jobs, their pensions, their investments and their savings. After all, we have all been affected by it as consumers of financial products. The public has lost confidence in the financial services industry. Many reasons for the 2008 financial crisis have been cited; complex high-risk products, lack of transparency, undisclosed conflicts of interest, failure of regulators and credit rating agencies and systematic failures of corporate governance and risk management within organizations. Although the cause of the 2008 crisis was obviously a combination of the above, it could be argued that the underlying cause of the crisis was a complete collapse of ethical behavior in the financial services sector. This essay examines agency theory and the resulting issue of executive compensation in the context of the financial services industry. It highlights the ethical questions that arise middle of paper ....... Corporate social responsibility is high on the business agenda. More robust corporate governance is introduced. Governments around the world have strengthened regulations to try to ensure that systems are in place to control risk and restore confidence in the financial services sector. However, judging by the number of scandals that have arisen since the crisis, this does not seem to be working because the underlying problems with company culture and behavior remain unaddressed. Although the industry is working hard to change the culture from before the crisis, to make the change permanent. , it requires a concentrated effort from all parties – regulators, businesses and individuals – to establish and strengthen a culture of integrity. This won't happen overnight. It will take years of persistent and ongoing effort by all parties involved to create lasting change in financial markets..