Leaders from the financial sectors of Europe and United States have gathered in Torino, Italy, this week to examine issues affecting their financial markets.
The seventh annual “Symposium on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century: An Agenda for Europe and the United States,” organized by Harvard Law School’s Program on International Financial Systems and the Centre for European Policy Studies, provides a platform for participants from the public and private sectors to discuss the financial challenges facing their markets.
“The Symposium comes at an opportune time as both the U.S. and EU work on plans of regulatory reform to deal with the credit crisis,” said HLS Professor Hal S. Scott, Director of PIFS. “Virtually all regulatory solutions require international cooperation and coordination. Going our separate ways risks prolonging and possibly intensifying the crisis.”
“Proposals to refund the financial system are starting to emerge at an increasing pace. It is important that discussions between the EU and the US, which together count for about 2/3 of the global financial system, are as well coordinated as is practically possible given the circumstances. This symposium aims to contribute to keep the dialogue open, and to learn from the different experiences,” he said.
Said Karel Lannoo, chief executive of CEPS: “The symposium happened exactly in the week that policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic are considering their responses to the financial market turmoil. While the EU has made much progress over the last years in responding to growing European market integration, the proposals by US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson are a clear signal that a more radical reform is also needed on the European side.”
The 80 attendees at the March 26-28 symposium include senior government officials, financial firm leaders, lawyers, consultants, and scholars from the U.S. and EU. Speakers include:
* Roel Campos ’79, partner in charge of Washington office, Cooley Godward Kronish
* Jörgen Holmquist, Director General of DG Internal Market and Services, European Commission
* Michel Prada, Former Chairman, Autorité des Marchés Financiers
* Alessandro Profumo, Chief Executive Officer, UniCredit
The Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems was founded in 1986. It was established to conduct research integrating law, economics and finance. In over 20 years, the Program has published books, performed research, held symposia and provided policy advice to an array of countries.
The Centre for European Policy Studies was founded in Brussels in 1983, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2008. CEPS is one of the most experienced and authoritative think tanks operating in the European Union today, offering in depth research and numerous annual publications in different EU policy research areas, (such as, financial markets integration and regulation).