Last Updated on August 22, 2026 by Status.net Editorial Team

Core values define a company’s culture and help to shape the way employees interact with each other, customers, and stakeholders. Core values are also important for building trust and loyalty with customers. In this article you will find examples of core values for companies that fall into the following industries:

Finance and Insurance

This industry encompasses a wide range of businesses including banks, credit unions, investment companies, insurance companies, and pension funds. Finance and insurance companies provide services such as banking, investments, insurance, wealth management, and retirement planning. They are responsible for providing customers with access to capital, providing a secure place to store money and investments, and helping manage their financial risks. They also provide advisory services on investments and financial planning.

Core values for finance and insurance companies often include: commitment to customer service, integrity, transparency, and ethical practices.

• Customer service should be at the forefront of an organization’s core values because it is essential for providing quality products and services to clients.
• Integrity means following through on promises, being truthful in all interactions, and maintaining high standards of conduct.
• Transparency and communication are important values for these companies because customers and employees want to understand how their data is being used and stored; also they want to be informed of all new regulations and other changes that could affect them.
• Ethical practices are important to prioritize customer protection while still meeting the company’s financial goals.

How to Define Core Values for a Finance or Insurance Company

Reading examples from Deloitte, KPMG, or Progressive is a useful starting point, but the real work begins when you sit down to write values that fit your own organization. Financial services and insurance companies operate under unique pressures: heavy regulation, long-term client trust, and the need to balance risk management with growth. Good core values reflect that reality instead of borrowing generic corporate language.

Steps to Build a Financial Services Value Statement That Fits Your Culture

Most companies that get this right follow a similar process, even if they never write it down as a formal method.

• Start with behaviors (not adjectives). Instead of picking a word like “integrity” out of thin air, look at moments when your team already acted with integrity. What did that look like in a client call, a claims decision, or a lending approval?
• Involve people across departments. A value statement written only by executives often misses how compliance, underwriting, or client service teams actually experience the work. Include voices from each function before finalizing anything.
• Limit the list to what you can defend. Five to seven values are usually enough. Long lists dilute focus and make it harder for employees to remember what actually matters day to day.
• Test the language against hard decisions. Ask whether the value would have changed a real decision your company made in the past year, such as how you handled a denied claim or a difficult underwriting call. If the answer is no, the value may be more aspirational than authentic.
• Revisit values on a cycle, not just once. Markets shift, regulations change, and client expectations evolve. Reviewing your values every few years keeps them relevant rather than treating the first draft as final.

Common Value Themes Shared Across Financial Strength and Customer Commitment

Across banks, insurers, asset managers, and financial advisory firms, a recognizable set of themes tends to repeat, even when the specific wording varies from company to company.

• Financial strength and stability, often expressed as prudent risk management, long-term thinking, or fiscal discipline.
• Customer or client commitment, framed around trust, responsiveness, or putting the client’s financial well-being first.
• Operational excellence, covering accuracy, efficiency, and consistency in how policies, claims, or transactions are handled.
• Employee commitment, reflecting investment in training, career growth, and workplace culture.
• Regulatory and ethical integrity, emphasizing compliance-minded behavior and honest communication with regulators and clients alike.
• Community and environmental responsibility, increasingly common as insurers and financial institutions respond to client expectations around sustainability and local impact.

 

Examples of core values for Finance and Insurance Companies:

Accenture

1. Stewardship
2. The Best People
3. Client Value Creation
4. One Global Network
5. Respect for the Individual
6. Integrity

Pinnacle Financial Partners

1. Integrity
2. Fairness
3. Learning
4. Partnership
5. Results
6. Balance
7. Discipline

If you are looking for more examples of core values for different industries, check our main article here (click to open 250+ Best Core Values: Examples for 12 Industries)

EKS&H

1. Integrity and ethical values
2. Direct, open, and honest communication
3. Commitment to clients
4. Product quality and reliability
5. Continual self-improvement / self renewal
6. Having fun
7. People as the source of our strength
8. Team-orientation / commitment to each other
9. Creativity / innovation / risk-taking
10. Strong work ethic

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.

KKR’s founders established a culture based on their own partnership and lifelong friendship. We partner with whom we do business and maintain a shared sense of ownership across the firm. Today these core values remain ingrained in every aspect of our organization. They are also reflected by the values we live by:

Teamwork

Teamwork is at the heart of how we operate. We take enormous pride in our one-firm approach, operating proactively and collaboratively across businesses and geographies to achieve the best possible results. We continually look to help one another and work together towards common goals. We know from experience that we can achieve much more collectively than any of us could individually. In keeping with this approach, every employee at the firm has an equity interest in KKR and shares in our success.

Integrity

We conduct ourselves with integrity in everything we do. Our reputation — as individuals and as a firm — is paramount. Our word is our bond – “we say what we mean and we do what we say.” As a learning organization, we are self-critical — acknowledging our mistakes and trying always to learn from them.

Relationship-Driven

People do business with people they like and trust. As a relationship-driven firm, we are deeply committed to building and sustaining long-term internal and external partnerships, grounded in trust and transparency. We know it takes years to build a strong partnership and reputation, while they can be ruined in just a few minutes. We seek continually to understand and align the interests of all stakeholders, and we treat everyone with fairness, compassion, and respect. We believe that “arrogance kills” and has no place at KKR.

Accountability

We readily accept accountability for our actions, inactions and decisions, both individually and as a firm. We also embrace the implied responsibilities of our one-firm approach: the obligation to speak up and say what we think and to respect and listen to our colleagues. We have the institutional and personal fortitude to say “no,” even at the eleventh hour. We deliver on our commitments — to our stakeholders, our partners, and one another.

Innovation

We are determined to be innovative: questioning accepted wisdom, creating new ideas, offering new approaches, and never resting on our laurels. We are self-starters with a willingness to take prudent risks and find creative solutions to our stakeholders’ needs. We work passionately to retain the entrepreneurial spirit that created our firm and to fight against organizational politics and bureaucracy.

Excellence

We aspire to be the best at what we do and to lead by example. We set high personal and company standards, and then consistently try to exceed them. We attract self-motivated, highly capable, results-oriented people and invest heavily in their development. Our focus on impact and results creates a vibrant and meritocratic environment, directly linking individual performance with the firm’s success.

Diversity

We see tremendous value in and are strongly committed to having a well-rounded, inclusive workplace – one that is reflective of the investors we serve, the companies and other stakeholders with whom we partner, and the communities in which we live and conduct business. We strive to attract, develop, retain, and promote the best possible talent – women and men of all ethnicities and sexual orientations. We believe a team comprised more fully of individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and insights will make us a stronger and more effective organization.

Cytonn Investments

Cytonn exists to serve the interest of our clients. We do this by creating innovative and differentiated financial solutions that speak very directly to the needs of our clients. To do this well, we hold the following dear:

People

We go to great lengths to identify, train, motivate and retain the very best people we can get. To deliver the best service and the best return to our clients, we have to attract the best people who are drawn to tackling challenging issues and excel.

Excellence

We demand excellence in all that we do and we are always looking for better and faster ways of serving our client. When clients experience collaborating with us, we want them to feel the difference and get uncommon solutions and results.

Client Focus

In order to do well in the long-term, we have to do what is in the best interest of the client, always. This requires a firm commitment to integrity and adhering to our business standards.

High Performing Culture

Once we have the best people, we continuously design our culture to bring out the best in each individual in order for them to reach their full potential from both an individual and team perspective. We give enormous opportunity and responsibility, but equally demand accountability.

Entrepreneurship

We are never content with the tried and tested approach to serving our clients. We are always curious about how to better serve clients and deliver the best returns through innovation and creativity.

Societe Generale

Team spirit, innovation, responsibility and commitment are the core values shared by all Societe Generale employees. These values are central to our vision of a relationship-focused bank committed to serving its customers.

Intact Financial Corporation

Living Our Values, as approved by our Board of Directors in November 2009, sets out our commitment to acting with integrity and with the highest of ethical standards. It replaces our previous Code of Conduct.

Living Our Values is organized according to five core values: integrity, respect, customer driven, excellence and socially responsible.

We behave with integrity

We demonstrate the highest ethical standards of personal conduct.
We behave with honesty, integrity, openness and fairness when dealing with each other, customers, partners and governments.

We respect each other

We value the diversity of our people and their dreams.
We foster an environment conducive to personal growth and development and to new opportunities.
We recognize and value the contribution each of us and our teams are making to our success.

We are customer driven

We listen to customers, understand their needs, offer the best solutions and deliver on our promises.
We make it easy for customers to deal with us.
We go beyond expectations and always deliver an outstanding experience.

We strive for excellence

We are disciplined in our approaches and our actions, which is why we excel in all of our businesses.
We embrace change and the opportunities it creates, encourage innovative thinking and always seek to improve.
We value and reward high performance and success.
We provide high value to our shareholders.

We are socially responsible

We respect the environment and its finite resources.
We believe in making the communities where we live and work safer, healthier and happier.
We encourage the involvement and citizenship of all our employees.

Hong Leong Group

Quality

To consistently provide goods and services of the highest quality at affordable prices

Entrepreneurship

To pursue management vision and foster entrepreneurship

Innovation

To nurture and be committed to innovation

Honour

To conduct business with honour

Human Resource

To enhance the quality of human resources as the essence of management excellence

Unity

To ensure oneness in purpose, harmony and friendship in the pursuit of prosperity for all

Progress

To improve existing operations and to position for expansion and new opportunities

Social Responsibility

To create wealth for the betterment of society

Deloitte

Our shared values are timeless. They succinctly describe the core principles that distinguish the Deloitte culture.

Integrity

We believe that nothing is more important than our reputation, and behaving with the highest levels of integrity is fundamental to who we are. We demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainable, responsible business practices.

Outstanding value to markets & clients

We play a critical role in helping both the capital markets and our member firm clients operate more effectively. We consider this role a privilege, and we know it requires constant vigilance and unrelenting commitment.

Commitment to each other

We believe that our culture of borderless collegiality is a competitive advantage for us, and we go to great lengths to nurture it and preserve it. We go to extraordinary lengths to support our people.

Strength from cultural diversity

Our member firm clients’ business challenges are complex and benefit from multidimensional thinking. We believe that working with people of different backgrounds, cultures, and thinking styles helps our people grow into better professionals and leaders.

CDC Pakistan

Our corporate values represent the core priorities in the organization’s culture. Adherence to these values makes it possible for us to continue on the road to sustainable development. Dispensing with our corporate responsibility, we are able to honour our commitments to clients, partners & shareholders and; to our most valuable resource, our employees.

Reliability

Reliable & trustworthy for all our stakeholders.
Ensure integrity and security of information.

Integrity

Fair & honest in all our dealings.
Take responsibility for our actions.
Strive to perform to the best of our abilities.

Transparency

Policies & procedures are clearly defined, well communicated and applied equally to all.
Make adequate disclosure of company information.
Strong adherences to the best practices of Corporate Governance.

Teamwork

Build strong relationships within and across functions.
Share ideas / best practices and value diversity.
Communicate candidly and on an ongoing basis within team.

Capital Impact Partners

As a mission-driven lender, our core values are the foundation of the work we do each and every day. They shape our culture. They underlie our decisions and actions. They guide our relationships with borrowers, partners, investors, staff and the communities we serve. Simply put, our values inspire us to do our best every day to achieve our mission and vision.

Brave:

We speak with candor even when our position may be uncomfortable

Creative:

We look beyond the obvious to meet challenges head on.

Inclusive:

We seek out and actively listen to different perspectives.

Tenacious:

We are tireless advocates for our mission.

TCI BUSINESS CAPITAL

Create and Maintain a Positive Environment

Our Team Members are committed to an inclusive, fun and balanced environment, which is expressed through a profound sense of purpose and passion for Customer Service.

Creative Solutions

We strive to find solutions to the diverse needs of our stakeholders, including Team Members, Customers, Bankers, and Vendors. We accomplish this by constantly investing in new systems, optimizing technology and challenging our staff to think outside the box, while never forgetting the lessons learned from our vast experiences.

Keep It Short and Simple

We embrace clarity and simplicity. We focus on what matters. We separate ourselves from traditional lenders and other Factoring Companies by eliminating the red tape that is common in the finance industry.

Move It Forward

We minimize “wheel spinning” and focus on resolution.

Help Our Customers Succeed

We believe in getting our customers paid for the hard work they do.

McKinsey & Company

Adhere to the highest professional standards

put client interests ahead of the firm’s
observe high ethical standards
preserve client confidences
maintain an independent perspective
manage client and firm resources cost-effectively

Improve our clients’ performance significantly

follow the top-management approach
use our global network to deliver the best of the firm to all clients
bring innovations in management practice to clients
build client capabilities to sustain improvement
build enduring relationships based on trust

Create an unrivaled environment for exceptional people

be nonhierarchical and inclusive
sustain a caring meritocracy
develop one another through apprenticeship and mentoring
uphold the obligation to dissent

pwc

In PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems.

KPMG

KPMG’s global values define us as a firm for ourselves, for our clients, and for the marketplace. Our values describe who we are, what we do, and how we do it. Our values also help us attract and keep quality people, develop relationships with the appropriate clients, and protect and enhance our reputation. We aim to incorporate them into our relationships with our clients and colleagues so that they are reflected in the work we do every day and in the relationships we have with each other and with our clients.

The PNC Financial Services Group

Performance: We strive for excellence in all that we do.

Customer Focus: We understand our customers’ needs, seek to deliver an exceptional experience and provide insight to help them achieve their financial goals.

Respect: We trust the capabilities, character and judgment of our colleagues and empower them to make decisions.

Integrity: We are honest and conduct business with the highest ethical standards.

Diversity: We recognize the value of our differences and endeavor to create an environment where every employee is engaged and has the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the success of the company.

Teamwork: We work together to achieve our goals and to celebrate our successes.

Quality of Life: We advocate for the physical, financial and personal well-being of our employees, customers and communities, and we support the pursuit of work-life balance.

Hagerty

1. Being honest
2. Collaborating
3. Treating everyone with respect and dignity
4. Delivering on our promises
5. Always exceeding expectations

The Progressive Group

Integrity

We revere honesty. We adhere to high ethical standards, provide timely, accurate and complete financial reporting, encourage disclosing bad news and welcome disagreement.

Golden Rule

We respect all people, value the differences among them and deal with them in the way we want to be dealt with. This requires us to know ourselves and to try to understand others.

Objectives

We strive to communicate clearly Progressive’s ambitious objectives and our people’s personal and team objectives. We evaluate performance against all these objectives.

Excellence

We strive constantly to improve in order to meet and exceed the highest expectations of our customers, agents, shareholders, and people. We teach and encourage our people to improve performance and to reduce the costs of what they do for customers. We base their rewards on results and promotion on ability.

Profit

We seek to earn a profit by offering consumers products and services they want. Profit is how the free-enterprise system motivates investment and rewards companies that consistently create value.

More Core Values Examples

More core values examples: 250+ Best Core Values: Examples for 12 IndustriesSee also: 1500+ Best Company Vision and Mission Statements

Core Values Examples for Banks and Banking Professionals

Banking sits at an interesting intersection of financial services and direct consumer trust, which shapes how banks tend to phrase their values compared with insurers or asset managers.

Sample Value Statements for Bankers, Loan Officers, and Branch Teams

Individual bankers, especially those writing resumes, cover letters, or personal statements for client-facing roles, often benefit from a personal value statement that mirrors institutional themes while staying specific to their own work style. A few examples:

• “I approach every client relationship with transparency, making sure they understand the full picture before making a financial decision.”
• “I treat each loan application with the same diligence I would want applied to my own finances.”
• “I believe long-term client trust matters more than short-term sales targets.”
• “I hold myself accountable to the same standards of accuracy and care that the bank expects at every level.”

These statements work well in interviews and performance reviews because they translate abstract values like integrity or accountability into something a hiring manager or client can actually picture in action.

Shared Values Between Insurance Agencies and Their Clients

Independent insurance agencies often talk about values a little differently than large carriers, because the agency’s relationship with clients is more personal and local. Shared values tend to center on trust, protection, and responsiveness rather than scale or market share.

• Protection over profit. Agencies that last tend to frame their role as protecting a client’s family or business first, with revenue as the result of doing that well.
• Plain-language communication. Clients rarely understand policy fine print. Agencies that value clarity translate coverage details into everyday language instead of insurance jargon.
• Local accountability. Many independent agencies emphasize community ties, showing up for the towns and neighborhoods where their clients live and work.
• Responsiveness during claims. The moment a client files a claim is when values get tested most directly. Agencies that build their reputation on fast, honest communication during claims tend to retain clients far longer than those who compete on price alone.

When an agency’s stated values match a client’s own priorities, such as affordability, responsiveness, or long-term planning, the relationship tends to last well beyond a single policy renewal.

Common Mistakes Finance and Insurance Companies Make With Core Values

Even well-intentioned companies stumble when they move from writing values to living them. A few patterns show up repeatedly in this industry.

• Copying language from competitors. Words like “integrity” and “excellence” appear on nearly every financial services website. Without a specific story or behavior attached, they blend together and lose meaning.
• Treating values as a marketing exercise. Values written for a website banner rarely survive contact with real underwriting decisions, claims disputes, or compliance pressure. Employees notice the gap quickly.
• Failing to connect values to compensation and promotion. If a company claims to value client relationships but promotes purely on sales volume, employees learn which values actually count.
• Overloading the list. Ten or more values are hard to remember and even harder to apply consistently across departments as different as claims, underwriting, and wealth management.
• Never revisiting them. A value statement written a decade ago, before digital claims processing or remote client service became standard, may no longer reflect how the company actually operates.

How Finance and Insurance Companies Put Core Values Into Practice

Writing values is the easy part. Embedding them into daily operations is where financial and insurance companies distinguish themselves.

• Hiring interviews built around values. Many firms now ask candidates to describe a past situation that reflects a specific value, such as a time they had to deliver difficult financial news honestly.
• Claims and underwriting checklists that reference values directly. Some insurers train adjusters to ask, “Does this decision reflect our commitment to fairness?” before finalizing a claim outcome.
• Recognition programs tied to specific behaviors. Employee-of-the-month or peer recognition programs that cite the exact value demonstrated, rather than generic praise, reinforce what the company actually rewards.
• Leadership modeling under pressure. During market downturns or high claim volumes, leaders who visibly hold to stated values, even when it costs the company short-term revenue, build far more credibility than any printed value statement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are core values in the finance industry?

Core values in finance are the guiding principles a company uses to make decisions about client relationships, risk, and internal conduct. They often center on themes like integrity, financial strength, client trust, and regulatory responsibility, translated into specific behaviors employees are expected to demonstrate.

How do insurance companies choose their core values?

Most insurance companies build values around what happens during claims, since that moment defines the client relationship more than any marketing message. Common starting points include responsiveness, fairness, financial stability, and clear communication, shaped by feedback from claims teams, agents, and long-term policyholders.

Why do banks and financial institutions need a values statement?

A values statement helps banks align employee behavior with client expectations, especially in roles where trust and discretion matter as much as technical accuracy. It also gives hiring managers a consistent standard for evaluating candidates beyond resumes and credentials.

What is the difference between a mission statement and a core values statement?

A mission statement explains what a company aims to achieve, while a core values statement describes how the company behaves while pursuing that mission. A finance company’s mission might focus on helping clients build wealth, while its values might emphasize transparency, discipline, and client-first service.

How can a bank employee write a personal value statement for a job application?

Start with one or two specific behaviors that reflect how you work with clients or handle financial decisions, such as thoroughness in reviewing loan applications or transparency in explaining fees. Ground the statement in a concrete example rather than a generic trait, so it reads as authentic rather than rehearsed.

How often should a financial or insurance company update its core values?

Many companies review their values every three to five years, or sooner if the business undergoes significant change, such as a merger, a shift to digital service delivery, or new regulatory requirements. Regular review keeps the language relevant to how the company actually operates rather than how it operated years earlier.

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