Ethics and the World of Finance

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? Some of these questions are addressed here. [Keynote address at the Conference on ‘Ethics and the World of Finance’ organised by Sri Sathya Sai University, Prasanthi Nilayam, Andhra Pradesh].