and argentina diverging more and more, a currency union looks rather far away. • the idea of developing an american currency union from nafta emerges now and then. obviously, it has not been pursued with any real zeal up to now. • talks about a possible yen zone have come up regularly in asia. however, although trade and financial integration is well advanced there, switching from dollar orientation to yen orientation does not look very likely at this point in time. • deliberations on forming currency unions between australia and new zealand, or in africa, are in a very preliminary state, as the political will to cooperate is lacking. in africa, however, with the cfa franc zone and the south african rand zone, two currency unions already exist. iii st european monetary union ( emu ), which started on january 1, 1999, has its origins in the 1970s, when the first plan of a single european currency was drafted. not until the treaty of maastricht — signed in 1992 — was the notion of a european currency put into concrete form. emu is to be completed six weeks from now, when euro notes and coins are circulated. monetary unions in europe, however, are not unprecedented. three of them were set up during the th th second half of the 19 century. today ’ s world resembles the 19 century world in certain respects. in that age of industrialization, rapid international integration was witnessed. transportation costs sank, and led to closer trade relations. profound structural change was the result. as the european countries became more similar, their economies converged. in that environment, naturally, monetary integration was deemed helpful. today, we are in the age of so - called “ globalization ”. transportation costs, information costs and communication costs have come down tremendously. structural change is taking place in the “ information society ”. trade and investment relations are becoming ever closer. this is especially true of the european common market, where freedom of movement is guaranteed for people, goods, services and capital. the case in favor of monetary integration in europe is compelling. th let ’ s have a look now at the 19 century currency unions in europe, and find out what we have learnt. just as drawing an analogy of the international setting is far from perfect, so is any comparison of the monetary unions themselves. we can, however, gain some useful insights from earlier experiences. in 1865, the four sovereign states of belgium, france, italy and switzerland - greece joined a little

your value systems and compliance rules do not conflict or send irreconcilable messages. in the “ new compliance landscape ”, a failure to do this is a recipe for disaster. i also would like to make a concluding remark. i do not subscribe to the view that compliance officers or legal counsel should take on the mantle of the missionary. i am of the “ old school ” – the duties of the management and the board are owed to the company and to the shareholders. i do believe that the best among chief legal officers will see the job as more than just dispensing legal advice, and, as being the “ guardian of the corporation ’ s integrity ”. 1 but being the guardian of the corporation ’ s integrity cannot mean that integrity is defined by the chief legal officer ’ s personal value system and not the organization ’ s value system. we are not priests or rabbis. in a world where the consequence of rule breaking can lead to fines in the multiple of billions of dollars, lawyers and compliance officers can accurately claim that, in guarding the corporation ’ s integrity, they are enhancing shareholder value. when the bnpp case was announced, fbi director james comey said : “ until shareholders demand from their boards that those boards choose leaders who understand what it means to create a healthy culture of compliance, the money will keep walking out the door.... ” 2 my remarks today have focused on the organizational value system as distinct from its rule set. organizations should adopt and nurture organizational value systems because they are healthy for the company and its shareholders. the personnel in the organization will feel better about the work that they do, and they will do better work and more of it. it is good business to refuse to finance a jurisdiction that is sponsoring genocide. it is good business to say “ no ” to the customer who wants help in evading taxes. and it is good business not to corrupt government officials. companies with a reputation for a sound culture of compliance tend to do well at harmonizing their organizational value system and their compliance rules. if you look at those companies, you see success. thanks for listening. e. norman veasey and christine diguglielmo, indispensable counsel : the chief legal officer in the new reality ( oxford univ. press 2012 ). http : / / www. politico. com / story / 2014 / 06 / bnp - paribas - to - plead - guilty - sudan - sanctions