NEW YORK – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today announced that one of its sponsored groups, the Education and Industry Forum on Financial Services Culture (EIF), is releasing a set of case studies designed to facilitate the teaching of ethical norms to those in or entering the financial services industry.
Developed jointly by academics and industry members of the EIF, the case studies are written for undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing a career in financial services, as well as new employees in financial institutions. The case studies engage students with discussions about real and timely examples of ethical issues they could potentially face in a work environment.
John Williams, president and chief executive officer of the New York Fed, said, "These case studies are the result of a unique collaboration with academics and industry leaders to address a common goal. It reinforces how important it is to think and act broadly and across disciplines when addressing issues around culture, norms and behaviors."
The case studies cover a range of issues including: addressing conflicts arising from workplace conduct; the line between exploiting a loophole and cheating; making ethical decisions when there are no clear right or wrong answers; the relationship between revenue-generating functions and the compliance group; balancing client needs and cultural norms with what is realistic and permissible; confronting bias; and how to approach a business strategy that is "too good to be true." The case studies, along with an introductory video, are available on our new EIF website.
The New York Fed also announced that it is hosting a series of webinars regarding culture and conduct in the financial services industry that will highlight current work and scholarship in this area. The first webinar, titled Partnerships in Building Ethical Norms, is scheduled for Monday, October 19. This webinar will highlight two initiatives in which the New York Fed has worked with the industry on raising ethical standards: the EIF's case studies and the FX Global Code, a set of principles for participants in the international foreign exchange market published in 2017. The New York Fed's staff and two of its sponsored committees—the Foreign Exchange Committee and Financial Markets Lawyers Group—are now working with the Global Foreign Exchange Committee to update the Code and attract more buy-side adoption.
The EIF and the webinars are the New York Fed's latest addition to its culture initiative which began in 2014. For more information on the work of the Bank and other resources, please visit our Governance and Culture Reform page.
