Prudential recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute

Prudential Financial, Inc. [NYSE: PRU] has been named a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company® it was announced today by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

This is the first time Prudential has been honored with this recognition, which is bestowed only on organizations that demonstrate a culture of ethics and transparency at every level. To earn the recognition, companies are judged in five key categories: ethics and compliance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; culture of ethics; governance; and leadership, innovation and reputation.

“We are gratified that our long-standing commitment to placing our customers’ needs first and doing business the right way has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “We remain committed to growing our company responsibly, with integrity and an uncompromising focus on quality.”

Lee Augsburger, senior vice president and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for Prudential, said, “We are thrilled to join the community of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. Since Prudential was formed 140 years ago, we have been led by a management team that aligns our ethical business practices with performance. We are extremely proud of our employees around the world who protect and enhance our legacy of integrity in their daily business activities.”

Augsburger, who has oversight responsibility for Prudential’s worldwide compliance organization and the company’s global business ethics activities, pointed out that the company’s business ethics program promotes prevention, detection and resolution of potential misconduct and adherence to the letter and spirit of regulatory and legal mandates. “We actively promote respect, honesty and the highest levels of business integrity to continue to be seen as an admired multinational financial services leader, trusted partner and provider of innovative products and services,” said Augsburger, who was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by the Ethisphere Institute in 2014.

“Prudential performed well against our methodology, earning them a place among the 2015 World’s Most Ethical Companies. High marks were garnered for efforts in cultivating a culture of ethics through strong communication and training resources, robust culture measurement and management methodologies, and for its many corporate citizenship and responsibility initiatives,” said Ethisphere Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich. “Recognition as a World’s Most Ethical Company is achieved only by the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at Prudential for this extraordinary achievement.”

The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient (EQ) framework developed over years of research to provide a means to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics. The EQ framework and methodology are determined, vetted and refined by the expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere’s network of thought leaders and from the World’s Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel.

The Ethisphere Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of December 31, 2014, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.