The Cost of the Financial Crisis: planning an exit strategy
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
The Observatory joined the Bank of Greece for a conference in Athens, on 27 May 2009, focussing on the recent crisis in the banking and financial services sector. The conference considered how the crisis had developed, but it was also very much concerned with future strategies to overcome it.
The conference was held at the Bank’s prestigious premises and was hosted by the Governor, Professor Georgios Provopoulos. An array of international speakers addressed the conference. From the LSE, Professor Willem Buiter attacked what he called the ‘fiscal and regulatory vacuum’ at the heart of the EU’s governance. Dr Daniel Gros, Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, compared the nature and impact of the crisis across Europe and the US.
The focus switched to the role of the central banks in managing the way out of the crisis, with presentations by Lucas Papademos, Vice President of ECB; Ewald Nowotny, Governor of the Austrian Central Bank; and Florin Georgescu, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania.
A final panel comprised presentations by three of Greece’s top bankers: Takis Arapoglou, Chairman of the National Bank of Greece; Yannis Costopoulos, Chairman of Alpha Bank and Nikos Nanopoulos, Chairman of Eurobank.
The conference was widely reported in the Greek press, and especially in media focusing on financial issues, such as Kerdos and Imerisia.
INTRODUCTION
SESSION I.
THE COST FOR EUROPE: THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Chair: Kevin Featherstone (photo-1), Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies, Director, Hellenic Observatory, LSE
SESSION II.
CENTRAL BANKS: MANAGING THE CRISIS
Chair: Georgios A. Provopoulos, Governor of the Bank of Greece
SESSION III.
COMMERCIAL BANKS: PERSPECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
Chair: Yannis S. Costopoulos, Chairman of the Alpha Bank
GALLERY
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