This paper evaluates the reliability, authority, and credibility of key information sources used in banking communication and marketing research. It examines the American Bankers Association as the oldest and most influential professional organization in U.S. banking, the Economist as the leading trade publication for financial journalism, the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking as a premier peer-reviewed academic journal, and EBSCO Host's Business Source Premier as a comprehensive electronic database. The paper argues that authority in financial fields is largely consensus-driven and that no single source should be trusted without cross-verification across multiple reputable outlets.
The reliability of financial information has come under great scrutiny recently, for very practical reasons. When bonds with the highest possible ratings from some of the most reputable analysts in the country suddenly collapse, it is not surprising that an examination is conducted into how such analysis is produced and what sources of information are used to make such determinations. Had the same skepticism been applied before the current financial crisis, its damaging effects could have been mitigated or even avoided altogether. This is why academic scholarship in financial fields attempts to remain rooted in sources that are not simply trusted, but that are continually examined and verified as reliable. In financial fields, where replication is no guarantor of certainty, authority is determined largely through consensus — and an examination of the most trusted sources of information on banking reveals this clearly.
When it comes to institutions that overtly and explicitly represent banks' interests through the dissemination of information and the networking of banking professionals, it can be difficult — impossible, in fact — to find an organization whose funding does not point to the distinct possibility of bias. This is certainly true of the American Bankers Association, the nation's largest professional organization in the banking industry. Yet this does not change the fact that it is one of the most respected sources of banking information and policy advice (Feig & Bruno-Britz 2007). Independent analysts have determined that since its inception in 1875 — which also makes it the oldest professional banking institution in the United States — the American Bankers Association has been uniquely positioned to assess and affect policy (Feig & Bruno-Britz 2007).
Ordinarily, sheer influence is not necessarily a measure of authority or reliability. In the financial world, however, influence often creates reliability. That is, behaviors tend to reflect perceived realities and thus bring about those realities. As the largest, oldest, and most respected professional organization in the banking world, the influence that the American Bankers Association wields causes its information and determinations to be immensely powerful (Feig & Bruno-Britz 2007). In the most cynical view, one could say that ignoring or discounting the determinations and advice of the American Bankers Association is simply foolish because it is the same information and advice that everyone else is following — that is, the information and organization are reliable because everyone agrees that they are.
It might be assumed that the American Bankers Association's monthly publication would be the most respected trade publication in the banking industry, but this honor undoubtedly belongs to The Economist. Though the newsmagazine unabashedly practices advocacy journalism that promotes deregulation and free trade, it genuinely performs a service of journalism, investigating and reporting stories more in depth and more critically than many competitors (Langfit 2006). While many other similar magazines are veering away from often dry stories of pure business in an attempt to attract wider readership, The Economist has managed to remain in publication with an independence from both popular demand and corporate oversight, delivering reliable information to a growing number of interested readers (Langfit 2006).
"Peer-reviewed journal breadth and scholarly credibility"
"EBSCO's comprehensiveness as a research database"
The true measure of authority, even — and perhaps especially — in the uncertain financial world is the confirmation of results and information. Though repeatability cannot carry the same weight as it does in the hard sciences, every source must have a fair number of its conclusions agreed upon in other sources. An authoritative source does not guarantee true information, and an investigation of several sources is always necessary to ensure reliability. The sources discussed here provide a solid starting point for any researcher seeking dependable information on banking communication and marketing.
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