The floor of the New York Stock Exchange is sometimes noisy, and so is the bank management class taught by finance Professor Haluk Ünal at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. His Master of Finance students shouted, ran, waved their arms and hopped up and down during three-hour bank simulations on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2014, at the school’s satellite campus in Washington, DC.

Faculty at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business have summarized 2012 forecasts for individual sectors of the national economy. “Several important dynamics frame the 2012 economic outlook,” said Cliff Rossi, Tyser Teacher Fellow and executive-in-residence. These factors include:

College Park, Md. – November 5, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business launched the new Center for Financial Policy on Nov. 2 with a roundtable discussion on the hotly debated issue of “Executive Compensation—Practices and Reform.” The Center for Financial Policy offers an unbiased source of expertise on complex policy issues related to financial institutions, financial markets and public companies through cutting edge education and research.

In the wake of the financial crisis of last fall, the Obama Administration appointed “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg to work with the Department of the Treasury to sort out the way top executives at firms are compensated and what reforms should be made. Just last week, Feinberg came out with a plan to drastically slash compensation at seven companies bailed out by the federal government. But is focusing on reforming executive compensation barking up the wrong tree?

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, 7:30 a.m.; Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, 4:30 a.m. Financial System Reforms – Executive Pay

Smith School faculty have been actively involved in advising key players and proposing potential solutions to the finance crisis, briefing congressional staffers, members of the House and Senate Committee on Banking and the Committee on Government Oversight, and the federal Oversight and Government Reform Committee on issues from the collapse of Bear Stearns to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business cordially invites alumni, faculty, students, and friends to "Thought Leadership at Smith," a monthly speaker series with presentations from top faculty members who will share their research and expert opinions on timely topics.

Credit risk management is one of the most critical issues facing energy companies today, and a team of Smith School MBA consultants has given Constellation Power Source a leg up in managing this area. For their outstanding work in developing a credit-risk model for Constellation, the team was named best MBA consulting project for 2000-03 at a recent awards ceremony.

Are we headed for a cashless society? Financial technology or "fintech" makes it a real possibility, but sparse regulation leaves this new world feeling like the Wild West.