Date: 9 December 2020
This event was co-hosted by the Banking and Finance Law institute and the Institute of Regulation and Ethics.
We were joined by guest speaker David Rouch. David shared some of the findings from his recently released book - The Social Licence for Financial Markets: Reaching for the End and Why it Counts. David has interesting perspectives on how the social licence framework can help to influence market practice, the relationship between the licence and law and regulation, and how the finance sector could have a key role in addressing humanity’s key sustainability challenges. Here’s what Mark Carney has to say in his foreword to the book: "This book will prove an invaluable read to financial actors, academics, politicians, and anyone else seeking to understand how to focus finance for good. Through this book, David gives us a call to action, and we must answer it and give it the attention it deserves."
We heard from David, while Professor Rosa Lastra and Dr Costanza Russo will provide further insights on the matter.
David Rouch, an international financial services regulatory lawyer, became a partner in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2004. He is the author of The Social Licence For Financial Markets: Reaching For The End And Why It Counts (Palgrave Macmillan 2020) which looks at how to tackle the challenge of moving market practice more fully towards realising social goods. David has advised the full range of financial market participants, dealing with some of the market's most prominent regulatory bodies. He is particularly known for his work on law and finance culture. He has run two joint projects between Freshfields and the London School of Economics exploring this area. He is currently co-leading the international legal team advising a group including the UNEPFI, PRI and Generation on sustainability impact in the investment process.