duvvuri subbarao ethics and the world of strongfinancestrong.pdfVIP

Duvvuri Subbarao: Ethics and the world of finance Keynote address by Dr Duvvuri Subbarao, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at the Conference on “Ethics and the World of Finance”, organised by Sri Sathya Sai University, Prasanthi Nilayam, Andhra Pradesh, 28 August 2009. * * * Thank you for inviting me to participate in this unique conference on “Ethics and the World of Finance”. This topic would have been relevant at any time. But it is particularly so, given the current financial crisis which has called into question the ethical foundation of the financial world. It is also fitting that we are discussing ethics and the world of finance at Sri Sathya Sai University. The worlds of faith and economic development are profoundly intertwined, in both precept and practice. At heart, the strongest link is the aim to foster greater social justice. Ethics and the world of finance – the canvas I must admit I have not thought about ethics and the world of finance deeply or systematically before confronting the challenge of addressing this conference. And as I tried to collect my thoughts, several questions came to mind. How do we, as individuals, approach issues of ethics and values? Are our approaches different in our personal and professional lives? Are issues of ethics different in the financial sector? What are the ethical issues thrown up by the current crisis? Has economics, as an academic discipline, lost its value base? Is that the root cause for the malaise in the financial sector? How do we in the Reserve Bank interpret our mandate towards ethical standards and values in all that we do? These questions cover a fairly large canvas; and my scholarship and experience are clearly not adequate to cover that entire canvas. But I will address some of these questions in my limited capacity and time. The power of context We – all of us – confront ethical issues