Network for Sustainable Financial Markets

The Committee for Economic Development (CED), which created the Marshall Plan for reconstruction of Europe after WWII, has taken on the challenge of reconstructing corporate boardroom practices to promote sustainable business practices.  The CED concludes that “corporate boards and the leaders they select must integrate relevant societal concerns, such as environmental and human rights considerations, [...]

US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, outlined the Obama Administration’s plans for regulatory reform in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.  Will reform efforts go further, to address financial services industry conflicts of interest, governance problems and change the legal, tax and accounting standards that encourage short-term thinking, while allowing companies to offload long-term costs [...]

Lynn Turner, the former Chief Accountant of the S.E.C. has made a strong challenge to be more authentic in our diagnosis of the situation in the US and how this came about. In terms of promoting a return to health, every physician knows the right diagnosis is critical. I am taken when people like Obama [...]

If this crisis turns out to be the catalyst that causes financial sector players to learn and transform ahead of the next “predictable surprise” (eg climate change) it may just prove itself – in time – to have been “worthwhile”.  And two letters published this week show there is some hope that this could be [...]