Center for Financial Policy Hosts Systemic Risk Data Issues Forum
On Wednesday March 9th, the Center for Financial Policy at the University of
Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, in partnership with NYU’s Salomon
Center, UC-Berkeley's Fisher Center and Carnegie Mellon's Center for Financial Markets,
hosted a one day forum on systemic risk and data issues. A working group of academic,
regulatory, and industry representatives discussed a wide range of issues to lay
the groundwork for the larger conference that will be sponsored by the four partner
university centers.
Topics discussed included: Systemic Risk Conceptualization and Measurement Issues,
Shadow Banking, Executive Compensation, Identifying the Currently Available Data
Sources and Determining Data Gaps, and Access to Confidential Data and Dissemination
of Findings.
On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The act created an Office of Financial Research
(OFR) and a Data Center (OFR/DC) with the mandate to establish a sound data management
infrastructure for systemic-risk monitoring.
“Our working group was created to bring together a small group of leaders from
academia, regulatory circles, and industry on the subject of systemic risk and data
issues,” said Lemma Senbet, Director of the Center for Financial Policy and William
E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance. “I’m very pleased with what has happened today
and confident that we will have valuable recommendations to offer OFR as it develops
its capacity.”
Members of the working group include representatives from the Office of Financial
Research (OFR) at the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), NASDAQ OMX, and
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Academics from Maryland, NYU, Berkeley,
Carnegie Mellon, University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan, as well
as private sector representatives and Nobel Laureate Robert Engle rounded out the
working group.
The highlights of the forum discussion will be presented as a "white" paper,
identifying the salient issues of focus for the conference later this year.
The Center for Financial Policy was launched in November 2009 and develops thought
leadership in financial policy that impacts corporate performance, capital allocation
and the stability of the global financial system. Located in both College Park,
MD and in Washington, D.C. at the Smith’s School’s campus in the Ronald Reagan Building
and International Trade Center, the center is well-situated to take a leadership
role with its globally recognized faculty and its extensive relationships with key
policymakers, practitioners and academics.
By Eric Miller
Graduate Assistant, Center for Financial Policy
MBA/MPP 2012
