Confidence in reliable figures and sound people and in well-enforced laws against fraud and corruption. Integrity and confidence are not synonymous, but they are interdependent. Confidence is obviously closely related, and interlinked, to integrity: confidence is essential for economic transactions and that confidence is based on the integrity of market players.
So it goes without saying that integrity is not just a matter for sociologists, but for economists too. And it’s also self-evident that integrity is a topical subject, which plays an important role in the causes of, and the solutions for, the current credit crisis. That in turn is why I find it so important to exchange views with you on integrity here today.