Ethics as an indispensable factor in the economy
The President of the ABI delivers a speech that lucidly summarises some key principles to be followed
Ethics and economics are two parts of the same argument, and are also factors to be taken into account in business. This is necessary for a culture of production that is attentive to both profit and how it is achieved. These ideas formed the basis of a recent speech by Antonio Patuelli, President of the Italian Banking Association (ABI). ‘Ethics and Economics’ is a lucid analysis of the principles that should underpin every successful business and guide every individual in the modern economic system.
Profit not in opposition with morality, therefore. Patuelli explains that ‘the moral dimension of economics and finance enables economic efficiency and the promotion of sustainable, solidarity-based development as inseparable goals’. A ‘base’ that supports economics and finance as ‘sources of wealth creation, not ends in themselves, but means and instruments for increasing development, progress and civilisation’. Above all, not just principles. Patuelli goes on to emphasise that, in ‘economics and finance, everything that is morally correct is aimed at the overall development and solidarity of the individual and society, which can only be achieved in a market economy with social awareness. In such an economy, private initiative enjoys wide constitutional guarantees, and the market is free and competitive, supervised by independent authorities’.
Then there is the enterprise, the organisation of production par excellence. The President of the ABI then takes up Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus, which examined contemporary political and economic issues, emphasising: ‘The enterprise cannot be regarded only as a corporation; it is also a community of people. Therefore, it is necessary to assess welfare using criteria broader than GDP, taking into account parameters such as security, health, the growth of “human capital”, and the quality of social life and work.’
And next to enterprise is the ‘precept’ par excellence of today: sustainability, seen as an alternative to short-termism and everything that does not consider future consequences. ‘Sustainability,’ Patuelli emphasises, ‘is a long-term view and an alternative to choices based on polling that mainly analyses the consequences of phenomena.’ This speech by the President of the Italian Banking Association is certainly worth a read.
Antonio Patuelli
The Italian Banking Association – LINK University, 24 September 2025
The President of the ABI delivers a speech that lucidly summarises some key principles to be followed
Ethics and economics are two parts of the same argument, and are also factors to be taken into account in business. This is necessary for a culture of production that is attentive to both profit and how it is achieved. These ideas formed the basis of a recent speech by Antonio Patuelli, President of the Italian Banking Association (ABI). ‘Ethics and Economics’ is a lucid analysis of the principles that should underpin every successful business and guide every individual in the modern economic system.
Profit not in opposition with morality, therefore. Patuelli explains that ‘the moral dimension of economics and finance enables economic efficiency and the promotion of sustainable, solidarity-based development as inseparable goals’. A ‘base’ that supports economics and finance as ‘sources of wealth creation, not ends in themselves, but means and instruments for increasing development, progress and civilisation’. Above all, not just principles. Patuelli goes on to emphasise that, in ‘economics and finance, everything that is morally correct is aimed at the overall development and solidarity of the individual and society, which can only be achieved in a market economy with social awareness. In such an economy, private initiative enjoys wide constitutional guarantees, and the market is free and competitive, supervised by independent authorities’.
Then there is the enterprise, the organisation of production par excellence. The President of the ABI then takes up Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus, which examined contemporary political and economic issues, emphasising: ‘The enterprise cannot be regarded only as a corporation; it is also a community of people. Therefore, it is necessary to assess welfare using criteria broader than GDP, taking into account parameters such as security, health, the growth of “human capital”, and the quality of social life and work.’
And next to enterprise is the ‘precept’ par excellence of today: sustainability, seen as an alternative to short-termism and everything that does not consider future consequences. ‘Sustainability,’ Patuelli emphasises, ‘is a long-term view and an alternative to choices based on polling that mainly analyses the consequences of phenomena.’ This speech by the President of the Italian Banking Association is certainly worth a read.
Antonio Patuelli
The Italian Banking Association – LINK University, 24 September 2025