Bellwether Europe: The next big bang

The panel discusses how failures in the way markets were allowed to operate led to the crisis of 2008.

On the Challenge of Change

Niall Ferguson asks what caused the financial crisis, what the financial crisis caused and what has been done to address the manifest problems within international finance.

Bellwether Europe 2011: Europe's Decade of Austerity

Martin Merlin, Head of the Unit for Financial Services risk policy, European Commision, talks about how the Commision has launched a comprehensive reform of the European Financial sector.

A vision for Europe

Estonian Finance minister, Jurgen Ligi, explains his country's reasons for joining the Euro and discusses his vision for the future of the Eurozone.

Bellwether Europe: Niall Ferguson Interview

Niall Ferguson discusses the roots of the 2008 financial crisis.

The regulator's view header

In this session, part of The European Retail Banking Summit, a regulator and the UK’s consumer ombudsman review regulatory changes to understand what might be in store and the future regulatory landscape that banks will have to operate in.

Defying the downturn

There can be few areas of the world that show so clearly the dangers of over-development than the skyline of Dubai, which once had the highestconcentration of construction cranes in the world. Today, the cranes are idle, the market has stalled and there is a new mood of sobriety.

Death of a merger

Fortis Bank was close to bankruptcy in 2008 after a combination of risky initiatives and the financial crisis depleted the company’s assets. One of these initiatives was the failed merger with a Dutch banking giant, ABN Amro, says Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, head of transversal portfolio management at BNP Paribas Fortis in Belgium.

Good idea, bad timing

“Fail early and fail cheap,” is the motto at Suncorp, a financial services firm in Brisbane, Australia. If a project is floundering, the project’s executive sponsor is expected to identify the problem and make a decision about what to do before major resources are wasted.

The importance of local knowledge

Synergy Asset Management is a Geneva-based family office that manages money for several high net worth families in the Middle East and Europe. In 2008, Synergy, together with some private investors, set up the Landmark Real Estate Fund, a Swiss-based real estate investment fund that aims to provide solid, low-risk, steady returns in commercial and residential investment opportunities in Switzerland and other parts of Europe.

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