Restoring Public’s Trust in Financial System is Topic of Oct. 28 Program at Opus College of Business

John Taft

John Taft

Surveys indicate that barely half of the public trusts the financial services and banking industries. Three leading experts will discuss how to restore that trust at a program Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the Schulze Hall auditorium on the Minneapolis campus of the University of St. Thomas.

The program, hosted by St. Thomas’ Center for Ethical Business Cultures, is free and open to the public. The program begins at 4:30 p.m. and a reception will follow from 6-7 p.m. For more information, or to register, visit the center’s website here.

The speakers will share their perspectives, insights and vision for the future. They are:

Bethany McLean

Bethany McLean

John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management. His vision builds on his book on stewardship and his recent book A Force for Good: How Enlightened Finance Can Restore Faith in Capitalism. His goal is a conversation about how to position finance as “an agent of positive social change in the world.”

Bethany McLean, contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Originally from Hibbing, she comes to the conversation with extensive insight into the failures and mechanisms at the root of the financial crisis. She is co-author of All the Devils Are Here and author of the newly released Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants.

William Johnstone

William Johnstone

William (Bill) Johnstone, executive chairman, D.A. Davidson Companies. His perspective is informed by his role as leader of D.A. Davidson and his national experience as chairman of Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).

Following Taft’s opening remarks, Ron James, president and CEO of the Center for Ethical Business Cultures, will facilitate a conversation with the panel and the audience about the purpose of the financial system and steps needed to rebuild trust.