In what is characterises as "an attempt to employ competent and ethical financial advisers," the banking industry has announced a new way of hiring financial advisers, described by the Australian Bankers Association yesterday as following an "improved" protocol. The rationale is to try to identify the genuinely unethical performers, and keep them from moving around within the industry causing further havoc at each new employer."Sometimes a financial adviser can be removed from one financial institution for poor conduct, only to turn up working and continuing their poor practices at another," Diane Tate, the ABA's executive director for retail policy, said.To help avoid this, the banking industry has developed a protocol that sets minimum standards for checking references and sharing information, through a series of standardised questions and record keeping practices. This makes it easier to check how financial advisers have performed in previous jobs. "This is an important step by the banking industry to improve the quality of advice, support the professionalisation of the financial advice industry and build trust and confidence in banks," Tate said.The protocol was developed with input from regulators and other stakeholders. Subscribing licensees will need to make changes to their recruitment practices to comply with the protocol by 1 March 2017.