Professor Wilson addresses Italian Senate
Professor John Wilson, Head of the University of St Andrews Business School’s Department of Finance, delivered an invited address at the Italian Senate in Rome, speaking at a high-level event titled “For a New Economy: Building Paradigms Based on People, Ethics, Trust, and Cooperation.”
His speech, “Cooperative Banking Organisations: Evolution, Contemporary Challenges and Future Prospects,” explored the enduring role of cooperative banks in an increasingly digital and impersonal global financial system.
Speaking to an audience of senior policymakers, regulators, church leaders, and industry and academic experts from across Europe, Professor Wilson argued that cooperative banks offer something increasingly rare in modern finance. He said:
“As global finance becomes faster, more digital, and more impersonal, cooperative banks offer something increasingly rare: institutions owned by their customers, rooted in their communities, and built on ethical commitment, trust, and cooperation, placing resilience, responsibility, and long-term stability above short-term profit.”
Other speakers included keynote Professor Elena Beccalli, Rector of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Professor Fabio Pinelli, Vice President of the High Council of the Judiciary; George Poulides, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Holy See; and Dr Fabio Tamburini, Editor-in-Chief of Il Sole 24 Ore.
The event drew together international support for cooperative and ethical economic models as credible foundations for a more inclusive and resilient financial system.