CONSULTAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE, MADRID 25 – 27 GENNAIO 2017

The three previous consultation meetings of the ‘Dublin Process’ (2013 at the Vatican, 2014 in Dublin and 2016 in Valletta, Malta) focused on the Debt Crisis, Financial Reform and the internal ethical reconstruction in the financial sector. These meetings allowed for an open discussion between specialists in Catholic Social Teaching, academics, and distinguished professionals from financial institutions and from financial regulation. Materials can be accessed on the website www.centesimusannus.org.

The Vatican based, lay-led Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation wishes to continue organizing meetings with a similar format and focus, although it decided not to limit its reach to the sole financial sector.

The consultation took place in Madrid, this time jointly sponsored by the Foundation, the BBVA Group and the Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE:

The meeting has been preceded on Wednesday, January 25^th, 2017 by a public presentation at the Comillas University ICADE, with a larger participation of students and interested persons.

The working sessions took place at Casa América on Thursday, January 26^th and Friday January 27^th.

It has been attended by personally invited participants.

Each subject has been introduced by a main Rapporteur and four Discussants. The meeting has been held in English.

All papers has been distributed in advance.

P R O G R A M

Wednesday January 25^th 18:30-20:30

Public presentation at Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE:

Financial Ethics in a Digital Age

Part of the Jesuit led Universidad Pontificia Comillas, ICAI and ICADE are among the most reputed engineering, business and law schools in Spain. Before the closed consultation meeting, the aim of the ‘Dublin Process’ and part of the issues have been presented to a larger audience of students and interested persons.

Chairman: Alfredo Arahuetes, Dean of the Economics and Business Faculty (ICADE)

Presentation of the CAPP Foundation and Dublin Process: Eutimio Tiliacos, Secretary General, CAPP Foundation, The Vatican

Moderator: José Luis Fernández, Economic and Business Ethics, Universidad Pontificia Comillas

Presentation of CAPP Foundation work on Financial Ethics in the Digital Age: Domingo Sugranyes Bickel, CAPPF Chairman

Panel members:

David Llewellyn, Loughborough University, former Chairman of the Board of the Banking Stakeholder Group at the European Banking Authority (EBA)

Markus Schulte, European Commission, Cabinet of Commissioner Günther Oettinger

Raúl González Fabre SJ, Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE, Ética económica

Thursday January 26^th

 10:00               Opening words

Chairman:      Domingo Sugranyes Bickel, Chairman, Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation

Catholic Social Teaching in the Digital Age

Speakers:

Julio Martínez S.J., Rector of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas
Bishop Paul Tighe, Adjunct  Secretary, Pontifical Council for Culture

Introductions of 15 minutes each and debate

11:00 First part

Jobs and Wages in the Digital Age

Most of the current debate on the future of work is based on a count of jobs to be created vs. jobs to be destroyed in each specific sector or activity. The results of these questionable counts are often meaningless and basically serve either techno-optimist or glum realistic prejudice.

However, recent studies based on practice show that inventions and technological knowledge/skills are different things, and that applied knowledge is mostly generated on the job in the initial stages of a technological revolution and the entire process between invention and maturity may take several decades[1]. During the process employment, both in numbers and in kind, varies and so do wages. And, most important, so does the required training and education.

This approach opens the way to new policies and gives some possible answers to the persistent scandal of durable unemployment especially among the young.

Rapporteur:   Alfredo Pastor, IESE, Barcelona

Discussants:

Jacques Darcy, Associate Director, Equity Investments European Investment Fund
Don Walter Magnoni, Responsible of Pastoral Office for Social and Labour issues,Archdiocese of Milan
Oliver Röthig, European Regional Secretary, UNI Global Union
Josep Salvatella, Founder of Roca Salvatella and other digital environment start-up companies

The Rapporteur had 15 minutes and each Discussant 10 minutes for their presentation.

13:30 Light lunch

14:30 Second part

Digital impact on Payments, Credit and Financial Risk Management: new ethical questions?

Does digitalization and the irruption of fintech change the traditional ethical questions asked by the Churches about the hierarchy of basic functions of a financial sector (payments, credit and risk management) at the service of the common good? There is actual change happening in competition, cost reduction and greater empowerment of consumers. Consumer loyalty to traditional financial institutions is more fragile and can be based only on true guarantees of quality. The most innovative among financial institutions see themselves as service integrators and effective customer relationships based on the use of ‘big data’, while others may keep a reduced role of basic utilities. How does all this affect the ethical approach? Are there new ethical questions emerging at this preliminary stage of the latest technological revolution? How do regulation and self-imposed ethical constraints combine under the new context? How does the digital revolution influence the capacity of the financial service to reaffirm its purpose in the perspective of inclusion and the fight against poverty?

Rapporteur:  José Manuel González Páramo, BBVA Executive Board member

Discussants:

Canon Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and Public Affairs, Church of England
David Llewellyn, Loughborough University, former Chairman of EBA’s Banking Stakeholder Group
Markus Schulte, European Commission, Cabinet of Commissioner Günther Oettinger
Robert Tann, financial sector investment specialist

The Rapporteur had 15 minutes and each Discussant 10 minutes for their presentation.

Debate

18:00 Holy Mass for St. Thomas Aquinas celebration at Universidad Pontificia Comillas

21:00 Dinner with invited personalities from the Madrid business and financial community

Friday, January 27^th

10:00 Continued debate and conclusions

13:00 End of meeting. Light lunch

16:30 Guided visit to the Prado Museum offered by BBVA Group