NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has been named a 2017 World’s Most Ethical Company^® by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

This is the third consecutive year that Prudential has been honored with this recognition, which is bestowed on organizations that demonstrate a culture of ethics and transparency at every level. To earn the World’s Most Ethical Company^® designation, companies are judged in five key categories: Compliance and Ethics Program, Corporate Citizenship, Culture of Ethics, Corporate Governance, and Leadership, Innovation and Reputation.

“Our message is clear: no objective will ever be more important than being true to the core values and ethical principles that are the foundation of our company,” Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld said. “We are proud the Ethisphere Institute continues to recognize our commitment to integrity and has honored Prudential for the third consecutive year as a World’s Most Ethical Company^®.”

The World’s Most Ethical Company^® assessment is based on Ethisphere’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework of evaluating a company’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies. Prudential outperformed the overall average score attained by World’s Most Ethical Company^® honorees in this year’s assessment.

“This honor has been made possible because of our employees’ commitment to doing business the right way with the highest ethical standards,” said Lee Augsburger, senior vice president and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for Prudential. “I extend my sincere appreciation to all our employees for performing their day-to-day activities with integrity and in a manner that demonstrates we are worthy of trust.”

Augsburger, who has oversight responsibility for Prudential’s worldwide compliance organization and the company’s global business ethics activities, notes 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.

“Our business model is based on our ability to deliver on long-term promises. To ensure we earn and keep our customers’ trust, we have embedded Ethics and Compliance programs into our business strategy. This has engrained a commitment to ethical conduct in our DNA that is fundamental to our success,” said Augsburger, who is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers University, vice chair of the board of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative, and former chair of the board of the National Society of Compliance Professionals.

“Over the last eleven years we have seen the shift in societal expectations, constant redefinition of laws and regulations and the geo-political climate. We have also seen how companies honored as the World’s Most Ethical respond to these challenges. They invest in their local communities around the world, embrace strategies of diversity and inclusion, and focus on long term-ism as a sustainable business advantage,” Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich said. “Congratulations to everyone at Prudential for being recognized as a World’s Most Ethical Company^®.”

The Ethisphere Institute 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, 2016, 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.

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