Culture is a potent force in shaping individual and group behavior, yet it has received relatively little attention in the context of financial risk management and the recent financial crisis. In this talk, Professor Lo will present a brief overview of the role of culture and ethics according to psychologists, sociologists, and economists, and then propose a specific framework for analyzing culture in the context of financial practices and institutions in which three questions are addressed: (1) What is culture?; (2) Does it matter?; and (3) Can it be changed?