CONFERENCE – ECRC partner Observatoire de la Finance, held its 7th conference on Ethics, Finance and Responsibility in Geneva! The conference was a success and the report (Franco-Anglo) is available as an attachment below. The 7th Internationale Meeting on Ethics, Finance & Responsibility was hold on the 3rd and 4th of October 2008, in Geneva. WORKSHOPS: Emilio Fontela Lecture: Economics and the Common Good - Protestants, Catholics and Money - Was Hippocrates a Financier? Finance and Medicine - The 2007/2008 Financial Year: Towards an Ethical Appraisal - Ethics and fiscal concerns - Politics and Economic Life. The Role of Lobbying REMINDER: The Robin Cosgrove Prize for Ethics in Finance awards prize money of USD20,000 for creative and unpublished papers setting out innovative ideas to promote ethics in finance. Young professionals, aged 35 years or younger, can submit a paper, in English or in French, before the deadline of midnight, 31st of March 2009 (CET). A special Premio Robin Cosgrove - Ética en las finanzas EDICIÓN IBEROAMERICANA was launched in October 2008, with the support of MAPFRE. Papers are accepted in Spanish and Portuguese. Please contact the Administrator of the Prize if you want to participate in the EDICIÓN IBEROAMERICANA (info@robincosgroveprize.org). -------- In French: La 7ème Rencontre Internationale, Ethique, Finance & Responsabilité a eu lieu les 3 et 4 octobre 2008, au Château de Bossey, à Genève. THÈMES ABORDÉS: Emilio Fontela Lecture: Economics and the Common Good - Protestants, Catholiques et argent - Hippocrate était-il financier? Finance et médecine - L'année financière 2007/2008: vers un bilan éthique - Ethique et fiscalité - Politique et vie économique. Le rôle du lobbying RAPPEL: D’une valeur de 20'000 USD, le Prix Robin Cosgrove Ethique en Finance récompense des textes inédits relatant des propositions pour une manière innovante de promouvoir l’éthique dans la finance. Les jeunes professionnels, de moins de 35 ans, peuvent soumettre un papier en anglais ou en français, avant la deadline du 31 mars 2009 à minuit. Une édition spéciale Premio Robin Cosgrove - Ética en las finanzas EDICIÓN IBEROAMERICANA a été ouverte en novembre 2008, avec le soutien de MAPFRE. Les papiers sont acceptés en espagnol et portugais. Veuillez contacter l'administratrice du Prix si vous souhaitez participer à l'EDICIÓN IBEROAMERICANA info@robincosgroveprize.org). ----------- FINANCE: SERVANT OR DECEIVER?- FINANCIALISATION AT THE CROSSROAD Book by Prof. Paul H. Dembinski, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, 179 pages The work of the Observatoire de la Finance over the past ten years has shown that the continuing spread of financial logic through society is the result of a converging set of factors: the development of technology and, more generally, of wealth-creating capacity, a growing dread of risk and the unforeseen as living standards increase, finance's theoretically based claim to guarantee the West a peaceful future, the challenges and aspirations of countries in the South with regard to economic and social development, and so on. In the course of the Observatoire's research it has become clear that the psychological, philosophical and moral dimensions of finance are as important to a proper understanding of it as are its economic, technical and institutional aspects. It is these avenues that the Observatoire has explored over the past decade. The result today is an epistemologically coherent conceptual framework that has been used to help draw up a systemic diagnosis. The diagnosis, which is the subject of this book, reveals that behind the conspicuous expansion of finance a systemic transformation, referred to here as 'financialization', is in fact taking place. To receive the book : office@obsfin.ch SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Background Good timing Theoretical background How financialization is changing society PART I: THE FINANCIAL ICEBERG Chapter 1.1 THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCE The euphoric years Money: from servant to master ICT euphoria The break-up of money Chapter 1.2 PLAYERS AND INSTITUTIONS Markets as trust-building mechanisms Mega-players Custodians of the market temple Public deficits and how they are financed Chapter 1.3 THE FINANCIAL WORLD VIEW The efficiency ethos Risk and return: a neat paradigm Risk – fear of risk – a risk-free future From interest to greed: unbridled passion PART II: A NEW PATTERN Chapter 2.1 FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS Financial relationships From financial relationships to financial transactions Financial transactions Chapter 2.2 THE SPREAD OF TRANSACTIONS The institutional process Financial markets as sounding boards Finance as intermediary Relationships and transactions: statistical orders of magnitude Finance and the rest of the economy Chapter 2.3 VERY LARGE CORPORATIONS: THE VEHICLES OF FINANCIALIZATION Very Large Corporations (VLCs) A global marketing economy Enterprises' value: new forms of capital Shareholder value: the mantra of the new foremen ROE rules Procedures as a vehicle for efficiency Chapter 2.4 FINANCIALIZATION OF THE ECONOMIC FABRIC VLCs' subcontractors SMEs: private equity on the prowl Chapter 2.5 TYING CUSTOMERS TO BUSINESSES Planned obsolescence 'Personalized' customer relations Dissolving products into services The alienation of the anaesthetized consumer Chapter 2.6 OTHER ASPECTS OF FINANCIALIZATION The age of anticipation: banks and their customers Humanity in the grip of financialization Finance: a metaphysical response Chapter 2.7 IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW PATTERN PART III : FINANCE – WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY DO WE WANT? Chapter 3.1 LIMITS INHERENT IN THE PROCESS ITSELF The spectre of sterility Complexity Concentration of economic power Chapter 3.2 LIMITS INHERENT IN HUMAN NATURE Transactions: beyond conflicts of interest Ethical alienation A sense of helplessness Chapter 3.3 WHAT IS TO BE DONE? Challenge financial ethics Encourage long-term relationships Change the system of remuneration Revisit financial process ID: 42106 Author(s): iff Publication date: 01/11/08     Conference Report (Ethics,Finance&Responsibiliy Oct2008) (1422424 Bytes) URL(s): Link to Conference webpage Link to Debates' Review / Compte-rendu des sessions Link to Newsletter of the Observatoire de la Finance: The Robin Cosgrove Prize for Ethics in Finance: The 2nd edition is open! Link to "Finance: Servant or Deceiver?" by Paul Dembinski (book in english) Pictures of the meeting / Les photos de le Rencontre Link to ECRC's National stakeholder conferences 2008-2009

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