Topics in International Financial Regulation and Policy (Spring 2016)

FEBRUARY 11, 4:00-5:30 pm
Making it Harder for the Bad Guys: The Case for Eliminating High Denomination Banknotes
The ECB has just announced it will review the role of the €500 note in terrorist finance. But the case for eliminating high denomination is much broader – beyond terrorism, beyond the €500. Notes like the €500, US$100, CHF1,000 and £50 are the payment mechanism  of choice for tax evaders, drug traffickers, terrorists and corrupt officials across the world. They play little role in the legitimate economy. So why do governments keep printing them?
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Peter Sands
Peter Sands was Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank from November 2006 to June 2015.  He joined the Board of Standard Chartered PLC as Group Finance Director in May 2002, responsible for Finance, Strategy, Risk and Technology and Operations.  Prior to this, Sands was Director and Senior Partner at worldwide consultants McKinsey & Co. Before joining McKinsey, he worked for the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  Sands is the lead non-executive board member of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom and the co-chair of the India UK CEO Forum. He holds a number of board memberships including the World Economic Forum and Lingnan University and is Governor of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. He graduated from Oxford University and holds and MPA from HKS (1988), where he was a Harkness Fellow. As a senior fellow, Sands’ research will explore a variety of topics related to banks and financial markets.  His faculty sponsor is Richard Zeckhauser, Frank Plumpton Ramsey Professor of Political Economy.  Email:peter_sands@hks.harvard.edu

Peter Sands headshot

M-RCBG Senior Fellow Peter Sands.