Download the slides by Patrick Honohan

Download the slides by Maria Ana Barata

---

Drawing on his newly released monograph Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe (Cambridge University Press, May 2019), Patrick Honohan, former Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, will re-examine the role of the ECB in managing the euro area crisis, pointing to some analytical flaws and missed opportunities both at the level of monetary policy, and, beyond that, in regard to national bank resolution and fiscal adjustment.

The presentation will be followed by comments by George Papaconstantinou, former Finance Minister and Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece and part-time professor at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance and by Maria Ana Barata, 4th year PhD Researcher at the European University Institute. The online seminar will be closed by a Q&A session with the public.

 

---

Speaker

Patrick Honohan
Patrick Honohan was Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank from September 2009 to November 2015. He is an honorary professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin and a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC. Previously he spent twelve years on the staff of the World Bank where he was a Senior Advisor on financial sector issues. During the 1990s he was a Research Professor at Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute. In the 1980s he was Economic Advisor to the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Garret FitzGerald. He also spent earlier spells at the Central Bank of Ireland and at the International Monetary Fund. A graduate of University College Dublin, he received his PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1978. He has taught economics at the London School of Economics, at University College Dublin and as a visitor to the University of California San Diego and the Australian National University as well as at Trinity College Dublin. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2002.

 

Commentators

George Papaconstantinou
Professor Papaconstantinou has served government at the highest level, as cabinet minister, member of parliament and MEP. As Greece’s Finance Minister and subsequently Minister of Environment and Energy, he guided implementation of an ambitious and wide-ranging governance reform programme relating to budget and revenue processes, market liberalisation, as well as to publicly owned corporations and the divestment of state assets. Currently he is Professor at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance. In the earlier part of his career, he was a senior economist at the OECD, subsequently served in a policy advisory capacity for the Greek government, was a Board member of the largest telecoms company in Greece, taught at the Athens University of Economics and Business and consulted for the European Commission and international think-tanks. Since leaving public office, his work has focused on economic and financial policy-related analysis and governance issues. He has recently published ‘Game Over: The Inside Story of the Greek Crisis’.

 

Maria Ana Barata
Maria Ana Barata studied Law in Faculdade de Direito de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal. She is currently a 4th year PhD researcher in the Law Department at the European University Institute in Florence (EUI), Italy. In her research, Maria has been focusing on EU Resolution Law and on the interaction between financial stability and banking competition. While working as an editor at the European Journal of Legal Studies she reviewed articles in Law & Economics, EU Financial Law and Competition Law. At the EUI, Maria is also the co-coordinator of the EU Financial and Monetary Law Working Group and she is an active member of the Engaged Academics Working Group. Before being at the EUI, Maria worked as a lawyer for three years at Linklaters LLP in Lisbon, Portugal where she also prepared her admission to the bar.

 

 

 

---

 

Technical disclaimer

The online seminar will take place on the Adobe Connect platform. You can access the seminars from personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. You are strongly encouraged to read the technical requirements before registering for the online seminar. To ensure an optimal experience in terms of connection speed and video quality, we suggest to attend the seminar via a device connected to a stable network connection, avoiding if possible shared wi-fi or mobile connections.

Joint online seminar by the Florence School of Banking and Finance and IESE Business School.

---

Banks are under siege because of persistently low interest rates, damaged reputation and, some segments still with, at times legacy assets from the crisis, increased regulatory burden and compliance costs, and the need to restructure to face digital disruption as well as new entrants. The result is low profitability in many jurisdictions, and in particular in Europe and Japan. We will examine, taking stock of the theoretical and empirical literature, how disruptive forces affect traditional banking functions, and what to expect in the future restructuring of banking. We will focus on the impact of FinTech and BigTech competitors, the role of data, the introduction of digital currencies, and the possible emergence of new dominant players. We will sum up with implications for the strategies of the players, and the challenges faced by regulators in fostering innovation while maintaining financial stability.

 

---

Speakers

Xavier Vives
Xavier Vives is professor of Economics and Finance, Abertis Chair of Regulation, Competition and Public Policy, and academic director of the Public-Private Research Center at IESE Business School. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from UC Berkeley. He is Research Fellow of CESifo, and was member of its European Economic Advisory Group from 2001 to 2011. Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy Research, where he served as Director of the Industrial Organization Program in 1991-1997. Fellow of the Econometric Society since 1992 and elected member of its Council in 2006-2008; of the European Economic Association since 2004 and elected member of its Council 1991-1995; and Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute. He was member of the Advisory Board for Economic Recovery of the Government of Catalonia (2011-2015), and from 2011 to 2014 he was Special Advisor to the Vicepresident of the European Commission and Commissioner for Competition, Mr Joaquín Almunia. President of the Spanish Economic Association in 2008, Duisenberg Fellow of the European Central Bank in 2015, and President of EARIE for 2016-18. From 2001 to 2005 he was Professor of Economics and Finance and The Portuguese Council Chaired Professor of European Studies at INSEAD, and from 1991 to 2001, Director of the Institut d’Anàlisi Econòmica, CSIC. He has taught at Harvard University, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, and New York University (King Juan Carlos I Chair). From 2003 until 2013, he was member of the Economic Advisory Group on Competition Policy at the European Commission. His current research interests include dynamic rivalry, innovation and competition, banking crisis and regulation, information and financial markets, and competition policy. Further details are available here: https://www.iese.edu/faculty-research/faculty/xavier-vives/.

Elena Carletti
Elena Carletti is Professor of Finance at Bocconi University and Scientific Director of the Florence School of Banking and Finance at the European University Institute. She is also a member of Board of Directors of Unicredit SpA and a member of the Advisory Scientific Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB). Furthermore, she is research professor at the Bundesbank, a member of the Expert Panel on banking supervision for the European Parliament, a member of the Scientific Committee “Paolo Baffi Lecture” at the Bank of Italy, a member of Bruegel Scientific Committee, Research Fellow at CEPR, Fellow of the Finance Theory Group, CESifo, IGIER, and Wharton Financial Institutions Center. Ms Carletti was Professor of Economics at the European University Institute from 2008 to 2013, holding a joint chair in the Economics Department and the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Prior to that, she was Associate Professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt and Assistant Professor at the University of Mannheim. Among other appointments, she has worked as consultant for the OECD and the World Bank, has served in the review panel of the Irish Central Bank and of the Riskbank and has been a board member of the Financial Intermediation Research Society and of the Fondazione della Cassa di Risparmio di La Spezia. Ms Carletti graduated from Bocconi University and received her Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and her Habilitation in Economics from Mannheim University. She is the author of numerous articles on Financial Intermediation, Financial Crises and Regulation, Competition Policy, Corporate Governance and Sovereign Debt.

Stijn Claessens
Stijn Claessens represents the BIS externally in senior groups, including the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the G20. Within the BIS, he leads policy-based analyses of financial sector issues and oversees the work of the Committee on the Global Financial System and other committee secretariats. Between 1987 and 2006, he worked at the World Bank in various positions. From 2007 to 2014, he was Assistant Director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund. From 2015 to early 2017, he was Senior Adviser in the Division of International Finance of the Federal Reserve Board. He holds a PhD in business economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from Erasmus University, Rotterdam. He taught at the New York University business school and the University of Amsterdam. Mr Claessens is author of numerous publications in the fields of finance, international finance and international capital flows and further details are available here: https://www.bis.org/author/stijn_claessens.htm.

Antonio Fatás
Antonio Fatás is the Portuguese Council Chaired Professor of Economics at INSEAD, a Senior Policy Scholar at the Center for Business and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business (Georgetown University, Washington DC), a Research Fellow at the CEPR (London) and a Senior Fellow at ABFER (Singapore). He received a Masters and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. He has worked as an external consultant for the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve, the European Parliament, the OECD, and the UK government. His research interests are in the area of macroeconomics. His work explores the causes and shape of business cycles, the determinants of long-term growth and the impact that economic policies (monetary and fiscal) have on economic outcomes. His current interest also include the understanding of how new technologies are changing the way we think about money and the financial sector. He is currently the lead researcher of the CEPR Policy and Research Network on Fintech and Digital Currencies.

 

---

 

Technical disclaimer

The online seminar will take place on the Adobe Connect platform. You can access the seminars from personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. You are strongly encouraged to read the technical requirements before registering for the online seminar. To ensure an optimal experience in terms of connection speed and video quality, we suggest to attend the seminar via a device connected to a stable network connection, avoiding if possible shared wi-fi or mobile connections.

Download the presentation

Download the ESMA report

 

---

Over the last decade, the asset management industry has experienced strong growth driven by rising asset valuation and steady investors’ inflows. The net asset value of EU alternative investment funds (AIFs) amounted to EUR 4.9tn in 2017, and total net assets managed by EU-domiciled undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) amounted to EUR 9.3tn in 2018 against EUR 6.2tn in 2007.

The development of the fund industry contributes to the diversification of the EU financial system and provides retail and institutional investors with a range of investment vehicles that can be used to gain exposures to specific asset classes (equities, bonds etc.) and investment policies. Therefore, it is crucial to make sure that the fund industry is resilient and is able to absorb economic shocks.

In that context, the Financial Stability Board has issued recommendations to address structural vulnerabilities from asset management activities, which include provisions related to stress tests. This online seminar provides an overview of the framework used by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for fund stress simulations. The different building blocks of a stress simulation framework are outlined, along with a menu of options that can be selected by stress testers. Beyond the methodological aspects of the framework, the presentation will outline a case study showcasing how the framework can be applied, based on a sample of more than 6,000 UCITS bond funds. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with the public.

 

---

Speaker

Christian Winkler
Christian Winkler heads the Markets and Investors Team in ESMA – European Securities and Markets Authority’s Risk Analysis and Economics Unit. The Risk Analysis and Economics Unit is responsible for ESMA’s work on identification and assessment of risks to investors, markets and financial stability in the EU in the area of securities markets. Prior to joining ESMA in September 2013, Christian has worked in managing roles in the Chief Economist Department of the UK FCA and FSA and in the capital markets department of MAN AG, a large German corporate. He holds a doctoral degree in Economics from the university of Erlangen-Nuremberg and is a CFA charterholder.

 

 

---

 

Technical disclaimer

The online seminar will take place on the Adobe Connect platform. You can access the seminars from personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. You are strongly encouraged to read the technical requirements before registering for the online seminar. To ensure an optimal experience in terms of connection speed and video quality, we suggest to attend the seminar via a device connected to a stable network connection, avoiding if possible shared wi-fi or mobile connections.

Download the presentation by Daniel Gros

 

---

Conventional wisdom has is that low rates favour higher deficits. Yet, the argument is much weaker than appears at first sight. Risk free interest rates are now negative or ultra-low even for long maturities. However, the effective cost of public debt remains higher than these rates would suggest.

In this online seminar which will explore the interplay between fiscal and monetary policy, Daniel Gros (CEPS) will argue that the marginal cost of additional debt is today much higher than the interest rate for highly indebted countries. The European Central Banks’ sovereign bond purchase program (PSPP) might have increased the risk for private investors thus making additional debt more expensive. Furthermore, Dr. Gros will discuss how fiscal policy cannot save the ECB from its low inflation conundrum. Higher deficits would have little impact on inflation (flat Phillips curves). On the contrary, as Daniel Gros will argue, running a fiscal surplus is equivalent to central bank bond buying.

The online seminar will be closed by a Q&A session with the public.

 

---

Speaker

Daniel Gros
Daniel Gros is the Director of the think tank Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), which he joined first in 1986-1988 and then again in 1990. He has worked at the International Monetary Fund from 1983 to 1986, and served as economic advisor to the Directorate General II of the European Commission from 1988–1990, co-authoring the study targeted to design the Euro. He has also advised the European Parliament from 1998-2005, and 2010- present, as well as several government , including the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of France. He has taught at the College of Europe in Natolin and numerous other universities throughout Europe. In 2020 he is visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley. His current research primarily focuses on EU economic policy, including in particular monetary and trade policy as well as the design of the institutional architecture of the euro.

 

 

---

 

Technical disclaimer

The online seminar will take place on the Adobe Connect platform. You can access the seminars from personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. You are strongly encouraged to read the technical requirements before registering for the online seminar. To ensure an optimal experience in terms of connection speed and video quality, we suggest to attend the seminar via a device connected to a stable network connection, avoiding if possible shared wi-fi or mobile connections.

Download the presentation by Peter Alldridge

Download the presentation by Nikita Divissenko

 

---

In this online seminar, Peter Alldridge (Drapers’ Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London) will draw attention to three steps which in hindsight were decisive in the growth of the AML industry. At the time, those seemed to be small incremental steps, but were radical conceptual changes in the structure of laundering crimes, and whose consequences remain. They are:

• (i) the move beyond treating drugs offences as the only foundation of money laundering, to a far wider category;
• (ii) the move towards regarding laundering as an independent wrong rather than a form of complicity in the predicate and
• (iii) the move to include tax offences among the grounds for laundering.

In his talk, Professor Alldridge will reflect upon their significance, engaging with questions from the audience in the Q&A session that will follow.

 

---

Speaker

Peter Alldridge
Peter Alldridge has been Drapers’ Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London since 2003 and was Head of the Department of Law (from 2008-2012). He was Specialist Adviser to the Joint Parliamentary Committees on the draft Corruption Bill (2003) and the draft Bribery Bill (2009) and was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social sciences in 2014. He has published widely in the areas of criminal law, evidence, legal education, law and information technology, medical law and law and disability. He is the author of Relocating Criminal Law (2000), Money Laundering Law (2003), What went Wrong with Money Laundering Law? (2016), and Taxation and Criminal Justice (2017). He acted as an expert on corporate criminal liability for the UN in Indonesia in 2017. He was President of the Society of Legal Scholars In 2017-18.

 

 

Commentator

Nikita Divissenko
Nikita Divissenko is a Ph.D. researcher at the Law Department of the European University Institute (EUI). He is also a coordinator of the Finance, Innovation and Regulation Working Group. He holds LL.M degrees in European, International and Comparative Law from the EUI and from Leiden University (cum laude). Nikita is a qualified lawyer admitted to the Estonian Bar (since 2014) and has been a practicing lawyer in Tallinn (Estonia) specialising in banking and financial law prior to joining the institute. His Ph.D. project deals with the legal challenges arising from regulating technological innovation, and his research interests include economic regulation (incl. financial regulation), innovation and regulatory theory, AML and payments law.

 

 

---

 

Technical disclaimer

The online seminar will take place on the Adobe Connect platform. You can access the seminars from personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. You are strongly encouraged to read the technical requirements before registering for the online seminar. To ensure an optimal experience in terms of connection speed and video quality, we suggest to attend the seminar via a device connected to a stable network connection, avoiding if possible shared wi-fi or mobile connections.