Ethics in Finance - Robin Cosgrove Prize

The Winners - Ethics in Finance Robin Cosgrove Prize 2011

The Ethics in Finance Robin Cosgrove Prize 2010-2011 has now been awarded. The ceremony took place in Geneva on 10th November 2011 –Robin’s birthday.

The Prize makes awards for creative, unpublished papers setting out innovative ideas for promoting ethics in finance. By encouraging young professionals to examine their attitudes, ideas and behaviour, the Prize has achieved a truly global presence and is a remarkable instrument for promoting sustainable measures for ethics in all aspects of finance.

The winners of the Global Prize, now in its third edition, are:

FIRST PRIZE: Ethics: A Diet For Highly Leveraged Financial Markets [10'000 USD] by Jakub Kuriata, Polish, and working as a Credit Risk Analyst at BNP Paribas, London;

SECOND PRIZE: The Reconciliation of Finance and Ethics: Integrating the Interior and Exterior Dimensions of Reality [5'000 USD] by Faly Ranaivoson, Madagascan, a Research Consultant in Geneva, and

THIRD PRIZE EX-AEQUO to two papers: Financial Derivatives and Responsibility – How to Deal Ethically with Financial Risk [2'500 USD] by Simone Heinemann, a German PhD student, and

Ethics vs. Finance? An analysis of the origins, problems and future perspectives of this relationship [2’500 USD] by Bruno Federico Fernandez, Economist - Central Office of Public Funds in the Ministry of Economy of Tucumán, Argentina

The winners of the Ibero-American Prize, sponsored by MAPFRE of Madrid, and now in its second edition is won by:

FIRST PRIZE: Solidarity finance and the democratisation of money. [7'000 USD] by Nicolás Meyer, a Social Psychologist and Director of “Nuestras Huellas” a not-for-profit organization in Argentina.

SECOND PRIZE EX-AEQUO between three papers: Ethics vs Finance? An analysis of the origins, problems and future perspectives of this relationship [3'000 USD] by Bruno Federico Fernandez, Economist - Central Office of Public Funds in the Ministry of Economy of Tucumán, Argentina, and

A critical view of the financial sector and the behaviour of people: What to do? [3'000 USD] by Carlos Eduardo Estapé Viana, a Public Accountant in Uruguay, and

Decision: The space between the code of ethics and ethical behaviour [3’000 USD] by Carmen Lucia Carmona Paredes, Mexican, working as a finance consultant in London.

The best 8 papers are published today in a special issue of FINANCE & THE COMMON GOOD/BIEN COMMUN [Geneva, 2011].

Why is there the Robin Cosgrove Prize?

Robin loved life as a young investment banker in Tokyo and London.He was passionate about success and about his integrity. He believed that banks and the finance sector in general bring benefits to people and to commerce.

He travelled widely throughout the world. His experiences convinced him that the finance sector should serve the common good as well as making profits. He was concerned that complicated financial products would blur ethical and practical considerations.

For him, trust was the essence of good banking. But he feared that many young finance professionals were losing touch with the fundamentals. He set his life goal to promote better understanding of the critical importance of trust, ethics and personal and corporate integrity.

Sadly, at much too young an age, he lost his life in an accident on Mont Blanc.

The Prize, with its core focus on Ethics in Finance, is a small step to encourage young people to commit to Robin’s ideals.

Vision and Mission of the Prize

The Vision of the Ethics in Finance - Robin Cosgrove Prize

The Prize promotes greater awareness among young people throughout the world of the benefits of strengthening ethical approaches in all aspects of finance. The vision of the Prize contributes to strengthening the foundations and good quality management of banking and finance based on trust and integrity, especially in emerging markets. The Prize has a global vision, applicable throughout the world.

Robin believed that young professionals throughout the finance sector, whether in private enterprises of public services, have the responsibility and many opportunities to influence the future shape and sustainability of the world of finance, based on building trust and promoting integrity. The Prize implements his vision.

The Mission

The mission of the Prize is to stimulate innovative ideas for promoting ethics and integrity in the finance sector. The Prize reaches out to young people familiar with the banking, finance and investment sectors, with special attention to emerging markets, to attract innovative ideas, proposals and projects which could be promoted to major players in the business community. The aim is to strengthen the sustainability of ethics in banking and finance and to reinforce its implementation, especially in emerging markets throughout the world.

Business Schools & Centres for Finance

Business Schools and centres for the study of Finance are invited to partner with the Prize Administration to promote awareness of the competition and to encourage their students and alumni to reflect on the role of Ethics in Finance.

Information Pack for Business Schools and Academic Organisations - click here.

Diversity of the Prize Submissions

The Ethics in Finance Robin Cosgrove Prize held two competitions during 2010-2011: the global Prize, launched at Barclays Bank, London, [papers in English or French] and the regional Latin American Prize launched at MAPFRE in Madrid [papers in Spanish or Portuguese].

Submissions for the two competitions were of high quality and came from across the world.

The global Prize, with papers submitted either in English or in French, attracted interest from candidates from the following 48 countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Unites States of America, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

The Ibero-American Prize, with papers submitted either in Portuguese or Spanish, attracted interest from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and from Portugal and Spain.

Report and Prospectus 2006-2013

The Ethics in Finance - Robin Cosgrove Prize has launched a global debate on the role of ethics and integrity in all aspects of finance. Our goal is to use the fresh ideas and discussion that result from this dialogue to inspire the young finance community and to re-inspire the broader finance, civic and academic communities.

See our Report and Prospectus 2006-2013

How the Prize can benefit your staff ... and your organization

The Ethics in Finance - Robin Cosgrove Prize can reward your best young staff and recognize their commitment to important values, especially trust and integrity.

Please consider promoting the Prize through your own corporate intra-net as a tool for encouraging your young professionals to be more aware of the role of integrity and ethics in the finance business.

The Robin Cosgrove Prize is an ideal TOOL for training and staff development.

We would be delighted to be your partner to assist you to use the Prize as a cost-effective means to raise awareness of the importance of such issues as trust, integrity, and responsible ethical behaviour, going beyond a "tick the box" approach to compliance.

Through the Prize, you can incentivize your younger professionals to reflect on the relevance of ethics and integrity in their daily work, whether in the public or private financial sector.

The Prize administration would be willing to issue a joint certificate with your organization regarding submissions of papers considered eligible for the Prize, if they meet the terms and conditions for entries. The certificate would attest that the person submitting the paper had invested intellectual commitment in research and reflection about Ethics and Finance.

The value of the Prize as an inspirational motivator and as a staff training and development tool has been recognized by the International Monetary Fund [IMF Institute, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and by several large commercial banks.

Contact us to explore