The study, Backing market forces, analysed how voluntary standards could play a greater role in rebuilding a safer and more trusted financial services sector.
It identifies many areas where voluntary standards are currently lacking, such as in anti-money laundering and fiduciary ratings.
The study argued that adopting voluntary standards, alongside regulation, could provide a "third way", between self-regulation and Government regulation.
In the past five years the banking industry has been hit by many scandals from Libor rigging to J.P Morgan's record payments to settle charges over mis-sold mortgages and the myriad problems at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The report said these have contributed to a "trust deficit" in the industry.
Industry wants standards
It found more than two-thirds of those surveyed wanted more standards in finance around people (78%), products (71%) and processes (69%), with the majority (54%) favouring their creation by the industry as opposed to the regulator (23%).
Scott Steedman, director of standards at the BSI, said: "Given the mounting pressure on the financial services sector, the timely report confirms that voluntary consensus standards could provide a valuable tool for the financial services community to share best practice in many areas of business, including products, processes and organisational development.
"Bringing consumers, the wider society and all stakeholders together to help create a trusted voluntary standards market in financial services, is a role that BSI as the National Standards Body is well placed to deliver."
The report prepared by research firm Z/Yen Group concluded that a "new combined approach" to regulation in the financial services sector could boost confidence in the financial system and usher in reforms.
