Only recently did insider trading come to be criticized and to be held illegal in Western Europe. But in the final analysis, emerging markets, and even the seasoned markets of Western Europe, will come to depend on foreign capital. Such foreign capital is critical to their economies, and their political stability is at stake. Thus, improvements will have to come. In conclusion, I would like to repeat the comments with which I began this presentation.
Corporate governance affects the daily lives of people everywhere.
It shapes not only business but all of civil society. How our corporate governance issues are understood, and whether they are successfully resolved by businesses, governments, and major investors, matter deeply to all of us. For its part, TIAA-CREF will try to articulate principles that are important to us and that are designed to advance these causes.