o ’ neill has observed, banking requires more than just technical competence. 5 bankers must reproduce their efforts and results with reliability. and, above all, bankers must be honest. they must do what they say and say what they mean. this is necessary for the financial system to be viewed as trustworthy. without that, the financial industry cannot be effective in performing its key roles. cultivating these three traits emphasized by onora o ’ neill — competence, reliability and honesty — will help enable you to have a personally fulfilling career. the best doctors or lawyers do their work not only because it pays well, but because it is interesting and contributes an important service to society. i hope you feel the same about what you do. and if you don ’ t, i urge you to consider how your industry can become more professionally fulfilling. what is needed for you to feel better about your work, to sleep more soundly, to worry less about the risk posed to your business by potential misconduct? your professional fulfillment will grow if you also contribute to promoting these qualities in others — that is, by helping to improve the culture of financial services. it is easier to be smart, dependable and trustworthy when you are surrounded by other people who also fit that description. my second message is to reject the idea that a separate regime of ethics or morality applies in banking. i ’ m sure you have heard this, or perhaps even thought this, at some point in your career. 3 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches let it end there. we often teach our children by asking them if they would engage in that type of behavior at home. this is good professional advice as well. bankers have been criticized for their ethical and moral shortcomings. that criticism has legitimate grievances at its roots. there have been far too many instances in which bankers have not lived up to expectations. but it is also true — and i ’ m sure you have experienced this — that you have advanced in your careers because you have demonstrated personal attributes that anyone would be proud to possess. i mentioned before honesty, competence and reliability. you could add to that list hard work, perseverance and responsiveness. moreover, if you are like me, your careers will have benefitted from teamwork — the good fortune to work with capable colleagues. individual effort is essential, but success often depends as well on the contributions of others. 6 whatever list you have come up with, make sure that teamwork is among your core

condones or promotes misconduct. people see something, but do not say something. and, it is so shortsighted. it prevents problems from being addressed while they are small. by not raising their hands, these colleagues are “ quietly adding risk to your books [ and ] invisibly enlarging your liabilities. ” 8 they are also tacitly encouraging bad conduct by skewing incentives. there may be many reasons for choosing silence over raising your hand. you may face a conflict of loyalties. it ’ s uncomfortable to tell on a colleague. you may think that the problem will just go away, or that calling attention to a problem will harm the firm. raising your hand is difficult. but, it is also absolutely necessary. as rising leaders in the industry, you need to lead by 4 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches example. in doing so, you will make it easier for others to follow your lead. my final message is a request that each of you commit to a candid assessment of yourselves, your firms and your industry. for adam smith, candid observation was a cornerstone of economic behavior : “ we suppose ourselves the spectators of our own behavior, and endeavor to imagine what effect it would, in this light, produce upon us. this is the only looking glass by which we can, in some measure, with the eyes of other people, scrutinize the propriety of our own conduct. ” 9 candid self - assessment is essential to knowing where you stand and how you are progressing toward your goal. industry groups here and in other financial centers are working on useful ways to measure culture — consistent with the maxim, “ if it ’ s important, you will measure it. ” but, assessment cannot stop there, and it cannot be the job of someone else — such as management, compliance, audit or a regulator. each of us must also be reflective about our own faults. we must also commit to do better going forward. when it comes to making a candid assessment of your group, your firm and your industry, i would like to suggest that you devote significant attention to incentives. i believe that incentives shape behavior, and behavior drives culture. if you want a culture that will support your long - term business strategy, you need to align incentives with the behaviors that will sustain your business over the long haul. there are many ways of encouraging certain behavior through incentives. promotion is quite powerful, as is compensation. they are powerful, in