Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher participated in Finance Watch’s conference on Finance and Society Conference on March 27. Finance Watch is a Brussles-based non-governmental organization that advocates for the public interest on financial reform issues in Europe.

Along with the Financial Times’ chief economics correspondent, Martin Wolf, Mr. Kelleher gave the opening keynote speeches  Mr. Wolf addressed the Vicker’s Commission report and Mr. Kelleher addressed the Volcker Rule. The two along with Gerald Epstein, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, and Societe Generale’s CEO Frédéric Oudéa later appeared on a panel debating the social role of banks and capital markets.

Above is the video presentation of Mr. Kelleher’s speech and his accompanying PowerPoint presentation from conference.

The conference also featured participation by chairperson of European Banking Authority Andrea Enria, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier, and Stanford University professor Anat Admati (above). 

Mr. Kelleher also participated in the conference’s final panel session on whether financial regulation is too complex to be democratically accountable. Other panelists included Ed Kane, professor of finance at Boston College, Paul Sharma, director Prudential Business Unit for the U.K. Financial Services Authority, and Guido Ravoet, secretary general of the European Banking Federation.

European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier gives the closing speech at the conference, calling for greater participation by consumer and public-interest groups in the debate over financial reform.