At root was the rapid enlargement of stock market capitalisations in the latter part of the 1990s that arguably engendered an outsized increase in opportunities for avarice. An infectious greed seemed to grip much of our business community.”  BIS Review 23/2003  3  5  the widespread use of certain reward mechanisms such as stock option schemes. As Alan Greenspan aptly put it: “The highly desirable spread of shareholding and options among business managers perversely created incentives to artificially inflated reported earnings in order to keep stock 6 prices high and rising”. Trust, as has been demonstrated for example by Francis Fukuyama in his best-seller Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, may be invaluable for economic processes, as it facilitates 7 economic interactions and lowers transaction costs. Recent economic research is increasingly emphasising that social capital represented by trust may be as important as physical capital for 8 economic growth and prosperity. Policy-makers and regulators can help to restore trust in financial markets and auditing processes by enhancing corporate governance mechanisms. I fully support measures which promote adequate governance of corporate behaviour and thereby contribute to the restoration of trust in financial statements and capital markets. However, at the end of the day the crucial contribution to restoring trust has to come from the corporate sector itself. The sector has to recognise that easy profits are like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Executives in private business have a collective interest in promoting high standards of ethical behaviour.
Over the years, delegates from central banks of 30 different countries have attended the Conference. This growing international attendance makes particular strength of the Conference showcasing diverse experiences from very different areas of the world driven by the common interest in payments and market infrastructures. Equally appreciated is our domestic audience that continues to valuably contribute to the Conference each year. Focusing on current issues in the payment systems, the Conference agenda is each year carefully designed to cover the latest trends and feature the main challenges in the area. Variety of interesting topics has been on the menu so far including the European payment landscape and legislation with a special focus on PSD and PSD2; topics related to payment systems and payments oversight; the EU payment integration initiative known as Single European Payment Area (SEPA); then, innovations; security and efficiency of retail payments. We have elaborated 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  on instant payments, financial inclusion and accessibility of payment services, financial structures resilience and many more. This year’s agenda covers themes related to digital banking, cryptocurrencies and their regulation, the new technologies such as DLT and blockchain – all of them being topics of considerable relevance at the moment, and will only become more important over time. Bracketing this jubilee edition we had the pleasure of hosting many distinguished speakers from various affiliations starting from central banks, through relevant international institutions, commercial banks, clearing houses and custodians etc.