FINPROP

Financial Integration in Europe

and the Propagation of Shocks

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Dispatch

No. 1, January 2005

Information on Forthcoming International Conferences

March 2005

SUERF Conference

"Governance and Structure of European Finance after EU Enlargement"

9 March 2005, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

The aim of the conference is to discuss three connected governance and structure issues that are relevant in the rapidly changing scenario of European financial markets and institutions.

The first is the evolving set of regulations and regulatory authorities governing an increasingly integrated market, where cross border activities and multinational financial firms should gain increasing importance.

The second issue is the enlarged group of players, with ten new EU countries conducting their monetary policies and banking strategies in a “single” market that is currently too segmented.

The convergence of the new member states towards the euro area and their growing participation in the European banking and securities markets constitute a valuable challenge for the governance of European finance calling for attention by both market participants and the Union’s authorities.

The third topic is the changing pattern of bank-firm relationship in continental Europe where traditional finance based on personal relationship is gradually shifting towards a more impersonal “arm’s-length” model, posing new challenges to the competitiveness of European banking and industrial groups and setting the stage to innovate the structure of financial markets.

Three round tables will separately discuss these issues. General comments on the whole scenario will be offered as introductory and concluding speeches by authorities and industry representatives.

The Future of the European Bond Market

17 March 2005, Inmarsat Conference Centre, London

The British Bankers' Association and The Bond Market Association have joined forces to organise an essential one day conference addressing the current developments, trends and regulatory issues surrounding the ongoing development of the bond markets in Europe. This event will bring together senior regulators, practitioners and sector experts in an interactive format to discuss the key opportunities, challenges and commercial dynamics facing market participants both now and in the future.

http://www.bondmarkets.com/conferences/

May 2005

The Fourth Annual EEFS Conference

"Economic and Financial Issues in an Enlarged Europe"

19-22 May 2005, University of Coimbra, Portugal

The Conference will focus on the changes we observe in the global economy and on the European Integration process. Papers are solicited in such areas as:

-          European Integration

-          World Integration

-          Analysis of Financial Markets

-          Economic Geography

-          Spatial Economics

-          International Monetary Economics

-          International Trade and General Equilibrium

-          Macroeconomic Issues and Policy

-          Growth and Development

-          Regional Economics And Policy

-          Industrial Economics and Organisation

-          Labour Economics

-          Factor Mobility

-          New Political Economy

-          Public Economics

-          Topics On The Dotcom/Digital Economy.

It is envisaged that a number of papers from this Conference will be published in special issues of established journals in the forthcoming months.

Deadline for submission of papers: March 31, 2005

http://www.eefs.org/

CFSresearch conference

International Research Forum on Monetary Policy

20-21 May  2005, Frankfurt/Main

The Third Conference organised by the International Research Forum on Monetary Policy will be held at the European Central Bank on 20-21 May 2005. All papers on theoretical and empirical aspects of monetary policy will be considered, but papers on the following topics are encouraged:

• Interactions among monetary areas, including exchange rates and global imbalances
• Interactions within a monetary union: countries, regions, and sectors
• New developments in macroeconomics for monetary economies
• Design, implementation, and communication of policy
• Role of frictions: adjustment costs, nominal inertia, financial market imperfections
• Implications of supply shocks: measurement and appropriate response
• Imperfect information and learning

Deadline for submission of papers expired.

http://www.ifk-cfs.de/content/veranstalt/data/20050520Intern.htm

ECB-CFS Research Network

International Conference on Competition, Stability and Integration in European Banking

23-24 May 2005, Brussels

The conference is part of the ECB-CFS research network on "Capital Markets and Financial Integration in Europe" and of the RTN network on "Competition Policy in International Markets" co-ordinated by the CEPR. Its two objectives are 1) to present the state of the art of international research on the economics of banking, in particular on the important nexus between market structures and systemic stability, and 2) to provide a forum in which industry experts, policymakers and researchers can exchange their views.

Topics that could be addressed during the conference are:

·        Competition and financial stability: trade-off or complementarity?

·        Competition and the structure of the banking industry

·        Competition and the scope of bank activities

·        Effectiveness of banking competition in Europe and implications for non-financial sectors

·        Determinants and implications of bank mergers and acquisitions

·        Cross-border mergers and integration of retail banking services

·        Relationships between supervisory and competition policies and authorities

·        Banking integration and supervisory structures

·        Supervision of international banks and financial conglomerates

·        Harmonization of supervisory practices

Submission deadline expired.

International Conference in Economics and Finance 2005 (ICEF 2005)

“Towards a Richer Understanding of Economy and Financial Markets: Statistical and Econometrics Advances”

26-27 May 2005,   Labuan, Malaysia

The topics included in this conference are, but not limited to:

Economics:

General Economics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Economics, Financial Economics, Public Finance, others;

Finance & Banking:

Banking, Corporate Finance, International Finance, Capital markets, Derivative Instruments,

Investment, others;

Mathematical & Quantitative Methods:

Statistical& Econometrics Methods, Econometrics Modelling and Forecasting, Simulation and Bootstrapping, others.

All papers accepted for presentation will be published in the proceedings of the conference. In addition to that, selected papers will be published ICFAI Journal of Applied Finance (IJAF) or a special issue of Labuan Bulletin of International Business and Finance (LBIBF) after being evaluated by the Editorial Board members or reviewers of IJAF/LBIBF.

Submission deadline: March 31, 2005

http://wwwkal.ums.edu.my/icef2005/

June 2005

Changing Structures in International and Financial Markets and the Effects on Financial Decision Making

June 2-3 2005, Venice, Italy

The uncertainty in international and financial markets, the growing globalization, the availability of ultra-high frequency data and the design of new and increasingly sophisticated financial instruments all combine to present a host of new and challenging research questions for financial market practitioners and academic researchers alike.

The conference organizers encourage submissions of papers on any topic within this overall theme with a particular emphasis on the following areas:

simulation based approaches.

Deadline for submitting papers: February 28, 2005

Call:   http://www.greta.it/jae/call.htm

Banking Conference (DIW – co-organizer)

"Bank Relationships, Credit Extension, and the Macroeconomy"

3-4 June, 2005 Berlin

Rising international competition and integration of financial markets have affected the banking industry and could result in significant effects on the macroeconomy as well, because of the importance of the banking industry in credit extension.

This conference seeks research on topics related to how competition and the evolution of markets and institutions affect credit relationships between banks and borrowers, borrowers’ investment and financing choices, and hence, the macroeconomy.

The topics of interest to the conference include but are not limited to:

● relationship banking and its implications for contract design and the extension of credit;

● bank-borrower relationships and borrowers’ investment and financing decisions;

● the relationship between banks, firms and households;

● consumer finance and retail credit;

● the effect of banking competition on efficiency and credit risk;

● the interaction between banking and the macroeconomy and

● prudential regulation.

Submission deadline expired.

CFSresearch conference

Risk Transfer between (Re-)Insurers, Banks and Markets

June 10-11, 2005, Frankfurt/Main

The Conference will focus on the changes we observe in the global economy and on the European Integration process. Papers are solicited in such areas as:

-          European Integration

-          World Integration

-          Analysis of Financial Markets

-          Economic Geography

-          Spatial Economics

-          International Monetary Economics

-          International Trade and General Equilibrium

-          Macroeconomic Issues and Policy

-          Growth and Development

-          Regional Economics And Policy

-          Industrial Economics and Organisation

-          Labour Economics

-          Factor Mobility

-          New Political Economy

-          Public Economics

-          Topics On The Dotcom/Digital Economy.

It is envisaged that a number of papers from this Conference will be published in special issues of established journals in the forthcoming months.

Deadline for submitting papers: March 15, 2005

International Symposium on Forecasting

June 12-15. 2005, San Antonio, Texas, USA

The theme of San Antonio's ISF 2005 is "25 years of Progress in Forecasting." The discipline of forecasting has made tremendous advancements over the last quarter century in new techniques, improvements in traditional methods, and new ideas in applications.

The IIF and ISF celebrate their first 25 years as the premier international organization and conference in forecasting. ISF 2005 is a celebration of our beginnings and our continued progress.

The objectives of ISF 2005 are to encourage the continuing advancement and dispersion of forecasting knowledge in both theory and a wide variety of applications.

Keynote speakers for ISF 2005 include: Daniel Kahneman, Princeton's Nobel laureate, Ray Fair, Yale econometrician, Robert Fildes, University of Lancaster, England, and Scott Armstrong, Wharton forecaster.

 Highlighting the conference will be a series of panels and talks on the past 25 years and the continuing progress. Panels and talks already planned include diffusion modeling, Box-Jenkins techniques, exponential smoothing, rule-based forecasting, econometrics, forecasting in government, seasonality, crime, and conflict resolution.

 At San Antonio, forecasting "pioneers" will be recognized. There will be an award for the conference's vote of the favorite of the 24 previous ISFs.   Also, there will be major awards for the best papers, panels, and books at a previous ISF

Planned are stimulating and challenging presentations on a wide array of topics. The topics (in alphabetical order) include but are not limited to:

Papers are invited on all areas of forecasting. Proposals from potential participants for panels and new streams of research and application are invited.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 31, 2005

ECB Conference

"What effects is EMU having on the euro area and its member countries?"

June 16-17 2005, Frankfurt/Main

By invitation only

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3rd INFINITI Conference: Real and Financial Aspects of Financial Integration

June 24 2005, Dublin, Ireland

Following on the success of the first two INFINITI conferences in the IIIS in 2003 & 2004, the Department of Economics, Maynooth College and the Institute for International Integration Studies, Trinity College Dublin are pleased to announce a conference on Real and Financial Aspects of Financial Integration . We are pleased to have Professor Lothian as Keynote Speaker. Professor Lothian is Distinguished Professor of Finance, Fordham University, Editor, Journal of International Money and Finance and Director, Frank J. Petrilli Center for Research in International Finance.

The conference takes place on Friday 24 June 2005, immediately prior to the 12th Global Finance Conference which takes place in Dublin 27-29 June.

Papers that address the conference theme are now solicited. A special issue of Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance will be published based on papers presented under the Guest Editorship of the conference organizers.

Deadline for submission of papers:  February 25, 2005

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12th Annual Global Finance Conference

Globalisation of Finance and Europe

June 27 - 29 2005,  Dublin, Ireland

The theme for the Global Finance Conference 2005 is "Globalisation of Finance and Europe" and full papers are sought on this theme and all other themes in the theory and practice of Global Finance, including but not restricted to the following topics:

Special Thematic Sessions

- Globalisation of Finance and Europe - Chair: Jonathan Batten (Macquarie Graduate School of Management)

 - Debt and Development - Chair: Graciela Chichilnisky (Columbia University) and Speaker: Mary Robinson (Ethical Globalisation Initiative)

- **Volatility Modeling - Chair: Carol Alexander (ISMA Centre, University of Reading)

- **Asymmetric Risk - Chair: Akhtar Siddique (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)

Deadline for submission of papers: February 18, 2005

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August 2005

61st Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF)

“Macro-Fiscal Policies : New Perspectives and Challenges”

August 22-25 2005, Jeju Island in South Korea

For almost two decades, macro economists - policy makers and academics alike - have largely ignored fiscal policy. Now it is back at center stage. Increasing attention is being given to the role of public finances in achieving and maintaining macro economic stability and growth and in providing insurance against macro economic shocks. This Congress will look at public finance from a macro perspective and address a variety of new and emerging research and policy issues. In a policy environment emphasizing rules and forward-looking behavior, the performance of fiscal rules must be evaluated and the possibility of conflict between fiscal and monetary policies must be addressed. The role of public finance for long-term economic performance is important. The level and composition of taxes and government spending can affect economic growth both in developed and in developing economies, creating potential conflicts between distributional goals and growth. The interaction between public finances and financial market stability and the role of public finances both in fending off and in overcoming the economic effects of currency and banking crises have also emerged as critical concerns. Further important macro aspects of public finances are to provide insurance against severe macro economic shocks such as natural disasters and to deal with the ageing of societies around the globe. Moving beyond the sphere of economics proper, one must recognize that public finances are shaped by political institutions and politics. Democratic institutions and the design of financial relations between different levels of government can foster or undermine macro economic stability, the stability of public finances, and sustainable growth. While the main theme of this conference will be macro-fiscal policies, contributed papers on any topic in the field of public economics will be considered.

Deadline for submission of papers: March 15, 2005

http://www.iipf2005.org/

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September 2005

SUERF Conference

"Open Market Operations and the Financial Markets"

22-23 September 2005, Helsinki, Finland

The ‘New Consensus’, around independent central banks and the use of short-term interest rates as the key instrument of monetary policy, by no means exhausts the range of modern central bank activities or the issues that financial markets pose for the newly consensual monetary policy. Monetary policy has always been underpinned by open market operations, for monetary control purposes, for financial stability purposes through ‘lender of last resort’ facilities, and for exchange rate stabilisation. Latterly, the focus of open market operations has been to enforce central banks’ preferred short-term interest rates, through repurchase agreements.

However, structural changes in securities markets, and their greater liquidity, raises questions about the effectiveness of such operations as an instrument of monetary policy. In Europe greater financial integration offers the prospect of not only accelerated financial innovation. The development of credit beyond the scope of current open market operations may undermine existing open market operations. At the same time, recent interventions in longer-term securities markets in Asia and changes in the term of securities used in Europe, raise questions about the choice of securities for such interventions, the effectiveness of open market operations, and the integration of such interventions with money market interventions.

A conference on scope and significance of open market operations is an opportunity to explore these topical issues with central bankers, monetary and financial economists, and practitioners in banking and finance. There will be significant benefits to all three groups from an exchange of views: of central bankers' recent experience of open market operations; of monetary and financial economists' analysis of recent and prospective changes in the yield curve; of practitioners' views of recent and prospective operations in money and capital markets.

Deadline for submission of papers: February 28, 2005

The Ninth CEPR/ESI Annual Conference

Structural Reforms and Economic Growth in Europe

September 9-10 2005, Frankfurt/Main

The Ninth CEPR/European Summer Institute Annual Conference will take place on 9/10 September 2005 and will be hosted by the European Central Bank. The CEPR/ESI Annual Conferences are also sponsored by the Banco de Portugal, Bank of Finland, the National Bank of Belgium, the National Bank of Hungary, the Nederlandsche Bank and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank. The topic of the 2005 CEPR/ESI Annual Conference will be ‘Structural Reforms and Economic Growth in Europe' and will cover the following sub-areas:

(1)     the Flexilbility of European Labor Markets and Labor Mobility within the EU,

(2)   the Flexilbility of Product Markets,

(3)   Financial Integration in the EU and the FSAP and

(4)   the Reform of Pension Systems in the EU.

The intention is to have three policy lectures on these sub-areas by senior central bankers. Furthermore, there will be three survey papers on the above topics by reputed academics. Finally, the conference closes with a panel session of senior central bankers as questioners and reputed academics as respondents.

http://www.cepr.org/