jean - claude trichet : award acceptance speech for the grand cross 1st class of the order of merit speech by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, at the award of the grand cross 1st class of the order of merit by the president of the federal republic of germany, berlin, 3 april 2008. * * * mr president, dear eva, your excellency, dear friends, i will not attempt to conceal the fact that i am extremely touched : touched to be here with you, mr president, in this magnificent palace of yours ; very touched to have such a prestigious honour bestowed on me by the federal republic of germany ; and touched to find myself surrounded by so many friends with whom we have worked with such energy in deepening and strengthening the friendship that exists both between france and germany and across europe as a whole. mr president, thank you from the bottom of my heart for awarding me this grand cross, which i regard as an honour bestowed on the whole of the executive board and the governing council and all of the staff of the european central bank. mr president, dear horst, being here with you today, i am inevitably reminded of certain shared experiences, events that are now etched firmly in my memory as landmarks in what has been a truly historic period. • my first memory is of the fall of the berlin wall in 1989. you were tasked with organising the reunification of germany as state secretary at the federal ministry of finance. i remember accompanying you in 1990 on a long journey by helicopter over east germany to berlin, during which you explained to me the colossal economic and financial stakes involved in reunification. • my second memory is of the soviet union itself suffering serious financial problems prior to its collapse in 1991. we were in moscow together with our partners, the other g7 state secretaries, to negotiate with the kremlin – which had, by then, lost all of its power and had an “ end of empire ” feel to it – with a view to rescheduling the soviet union ’ s debt. • my third memory is of the decision in europe to enter into intergovernmental negotiations with a view to establishing the single currency. you were negotiating on behalf of germany. we met many times in order to prepare the text of the maastricht treaty. i will always remember a long discussion we had in 1991, when i remember having the impression that we had convinced each other that our respective countries really wanted to go through with this – but

the values for the financial sector are ultimately solidified by private sector forces. in particular, professional bodies have a crucial role to play. this role includes – but is not limited to – promoting competence within the financial sector. beyond training, these organisations are uniquely positioned to build for financiers, a sense of pride and societal purpose toward their vocation. the asian institute of chartered bankers ( aicb ) is making substantial progress in this direction for the banking profession. i am pleased to note that its flagship chartered banker curriculum dedicates a significant emphasis on professional ethics. this stands alongside various other efforts for training and standard - setting, including those by aif, iclif, sidc, fide forum, ppkm and fspb. i wish to take this opportunity to specifically commend the aif and fspb for their initiatives, including today ’ s event. these draw the much needed attention by the industry to this important subject. the system of values affecting behaviour does not only depend on the sector - wide legal and regulatory frameworks and the vibrancy of the professional community. also, of crucial importance, is the role of the board and senior management in each organisation. as has been often repeated, these leaders set the tone from the top. this is established through official decisions and formal statements, including the corporate values and various codes of conduct. however, their role goes much further than that. more than their words, the board and senior management determine the prevailing values of the organisational ecosystem through their attitudes, actions and decisions – especially those relating to professionalism and integrity. do they give the impression that the ends always justify the means? how vigorously do they question sudden surges in a business unit ’ s profitability? are they willing to overlook ethically questionable actions so long as the firm is technically within the bounds of the law? how do they react to ethical failures and misconduct? how does compromising the policies of the organisation affect bonuses and promotion? apart from the board and senior management, the system affecting each organisation is also determined by the shareholders. the capitalist system depends on owners of capital to promote sustainable value creation through market discipline. is it simply short - term profits that matter? are there other social or environmental purposes that must be safeguarded? to this end, the securities commission ’ s malaysian code for institutional investors articulates the stewardship 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches role that shareholders ought to play. ultimately, shareholders need to