Policy and business forums

International Forum; “the Growing Gaps Between Climate Change, Climate Action and Climate Finance”, Sydney, Australia, 2023

The purpose of this forum was to discuss whether the final agreements at COP28 would lead to adequate financial resources becoming available to mitigate the impact of climate risk in developing countries and also ensure that corporations in developed countries can become more proactive with respect to the ESG principles. Participants included representatives  from the business community, researchers, regulators  and government.

Mark Howden, Vice Chair, IPCC Working Group II, Nobel Peace Prize 2007 (for contributing to awareness and measures to deal with climate change), Australian National University.

International Forum on Global Banking and Resilience, 2023, Sydney, Australia

The purpose of this Forum was to analyse the role of central banks in financial stability, including their roles since COVID19 to navigate a number of major challenges, including supply chain, high inflation and global geopolitics and a major banking crisis facing medium size banks in the US, such as the Silicon Valley Bank. The Forum also discussed how any potential bad financial or economic news could lead to  bank runs and the potential for banking system  instability that in turn could potentially trigger a global crisis. Participants were from the business community, the commercial banking community and researchers.

Keynote: Dr Bradley Jones, Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia

International Forum on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), Fintech, and Digital Finance, Sydney, Australia, 2023

The purpose of this forum was to see the potential use of central bank digital currencies, including both the positive and negative consequences of them in terms of  financial risk and financial stability. Furthermore, the Forum has explored the potential risks associated with digital currencies and FinTech that could influence the level of interconnectivity, productivity and yet have the potential to generate  systemic risk.

The following high profile researchers were the keynote speakers of this Forum:

Agostino Capponi, Director of the Center for Digital Finance and Technologies, Columbia University and an Editor, Finance, Management Science

Lin Will Cong, FinTech Initiative at Cornell, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University and an Editor, Finance, Management Science

Jonathan Kearns, Chief Economist and the Head of Regulatory Affairs, Challenger Funds Management

Joint Forum of the IGF and Asian Development Bank on Climate Change and Climate Finance, Sydney, Australia, 2023 

The Institute of Global Finance at UNSW Business School, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, organised this Forum for the business community, for legal professionals, researchers,  financial market practitioners and policy makers. The intention of this Forum was to bring together some outstanding speakers who can share the ways in which the business community, central banks, the financial market and policy makers are all attempting to take their share of responsibility for mitigating the impact of climate change, through efforts and contributions within their industries. This includes encouraging the Business community to contribute towards the transition to cleaner sources of energy, their commitments to supporting ESG policies and approaches, and the role of central banks in ensuring financial stability and financial resilience in the wake of the various climate risks.

The speakers included:

Cyn-Young Park, Director of Trade Division in the Climate Change and Sustainable Development, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 

Varya Davidson, Partner and Energy Transition Leader, PwC Australia

Anna Park, Senior Manager, Climate Analysis & Policy, International Department, Reserve Bank of Australia  

Bianca Sartori-Sigrist, Associate Director, ESG/Responsible Investing Advisory, Climate Change & Sustainability Services, KPMG

Fariborz Moshirian, Director of the Institute of Global Finance, UNSW Business School

A Forum on Climate Change, Climate Finance: Current Experience and Future Directions, Sydney, Australia, 2023

The purpose of this Forum was  to highlight some of the challenges and opportunities facing policy makers, the business community and other participants at COP28 and also to briefly share a few highlights of the recently published book  by the Institute of Global Finance and the Asian Development Bank on climate change and climate finance, transition to cleaner sources of energy, global governance of climate change, the role of central banks and issues related to ESG.

Opening Remarks:

Karin Sanders, Professor HRM and Organisational Psychology,  Senior Deputy Dean (Research & Enterprise), UNSW Business School

The keynote speakers: 

Professor Tim Flannery  ( who is one of Australia's leading writers on climate change. An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, Professor Flannery  was named Australian of the Year in 2007.)

Cyn-Young Park, Director of Trade Division in the Climate Change and Sustainable Development, the Asian Development Bank

Fariborz Moshirian, Director of the Institute of Global Finance, UNSW Business

International Forum on Climate Change and Climate Finance , 2022

The Institute of Global Finance, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank organised a major international forum on climate change and climate finance.

As a follow up to COP27, an international forum on climate change and Climate finance was held within the AFBC conference program to analyse and discuss various issues associated with the environment, climate change and climate finance, considering the outcomes of this summit.

The keynote of this international forum was:

Keynote: Nobel Laureate, Professor Robert Engle from NYU

Speaker: Dr Cyn-Young Park, Head of Research and Engagement of the Asian Development Bank

The collaborative work of the IGF with the research work at NYU on climate risk and climate finance is a continuation of the current work that the IGF and NYU have been doing over the last 12 years. The stability of the banking system has been a major issue since the global financial crisis. The V-Lab at NYU has now extended this work to climate risk and climate finance.

The issues discussed include how to enhance global collective efforts and build capacity to sustain efforts for the protection of environment and measures that can mitigate those factors affected by climate change and ensure adequate financial resources. What are some of the challenges and opportunities associated with the protection of the local and national environment, what are the challenges associated with ESG; How can ESG be effectively incorporated into portfolio assets; What role does corporate governance play in contributing to the process of managing challenges associated with climate change. Is there a role for stronger global governance of the environment, and climate related issues.

An International Forum on FinTech and Central Bank Digital Currencies , 2022

A major international forum was held in Sydney on the above theme.

There were over 20 major research policy papers presented by senior officials and researchers from the IMF, the US Federal Reserve and others at this major international forum.

Keynote Speaker: Stijn, Claessens, Head of Financial Stability Policy and Deputy Head of the Monetary and Economics, at Bank for International Settlements ( Switzerland) 

International Forum on Climate Change and Climate Finance, Sydney, Australia, 2021

The Institute of Global Finance, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank organised a major international forum on climate change and climate finance, as part of the Australasian Finance and Banking Conference. The keynotes of this international forum included:

Nobel Laureate William Nordhaus, Yale University

James Skea, Professor of Sustainable Energy, Imperial College London, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group on Energy, and Chair of Scotland’s Just Transition Commission

Bambang Susantono, Vice President, Asian Development Bank John Tomac, Partner at PwC, (ESG and sustainability) Christopher Whitehead, CEO of FINSIA

A Special Forum on the Future of the Banking Industry-Post-COVID-19, 2021

The Institute of Global Finance organised a major forum on global banking, as part of the AFBC. This Forum was a follow up to the successful publication of a special issue of the Journal of Banking and Finance (A*) on COVID-19 and the future of global banking. The keynote speakers of this Forum were:

Dr Jonathan Kearns, The Head of Financial Stability, Reserve Bank of Australia

Professor Allen Berger, University of South Carolina

International Forum on ESG, Green Finance and Global Cooperation for Financing SDGs, 2021

As part of the IGF commitment to contributing to the G20 to be hosted in Indonesia, with a focus on the overall objectives of the UN SDGs by 2030, the IGF and the ADB organised the following forum as part of the AFBC. Many people with great interest in green finance and SDGs participated from around the globe.

Albert Park, Chief Economist, the Asian Development Bank

Pak Bambang Brodjonegoro, University of Indonesia, Lead Co-Chair of T20

Fariborz Moshirian, Director, Institute of Global Finance, UNSW

Warwick Schneller, Vice-President, Dimensional Fund Advisors

Ulrich Volz, Centre for Sustainable Finance, SOAS University of London 

Conference: Fintech to Enable Development, Investment, Financial Inclusion, and Sustainability  (22–24 September 2020)

The IGF, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) and the National University of Singapore Business School (NUS Business School),  organized a specialty conference with the theme of Fintech to Enable Development, Investment, Financial Inclusion, and Sustainability which was held in September 2020.

The event explored the potential of financial technologies and digital financial services to address challenges to the region’s financial systems, such as credit constraints, a lack of access to finance, and long-term investment gaps. The risks to financial stability and cybersecurity were highlighted as a caveat to financial technologies’ development potential.

The conference featured sessions that provided an overview on Fintech and financial development, examined how Fintech can be leveraged to promote financial inclusion and sustainable development, and reviewed Fintech case studies in order to unpack the challenges and opportunities that accompany financial technologies. Policy considerations were raised with the aim of narrowing existing financing gaps in Asia.

Some of the Keynote speakers included:

• Sopnendu Mohanty
  Chief FinTech Officer
  Monetary Authority of Singapore
• Andrew Rose
  Dean and Distinguished Professor
  NUS Business School, National University of Singapore
• Yasuyuki Sawada
  Chief Economist and Director General
  Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank
• Tetsushi Sonobe
  Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute

ADB-IGF International Business Forum on AI, FinTech, Innovation, Financial Stability, and Prosperity, December 2020

The aim of the international forum is to explore opportunities, issues and challenges in the financial technology industry. This forum is sponsored by The Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Institute of Global Finance-University of New South Wales (IGF-UNSW), the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The International Forum and related sessions featured discussions on the role of future AI. It also discussed how Fintech can spur innovation and efficiency in the financial sector, including examination of trends in financial intermediation, of potential applications of tokenization, and of the use of machine learning to improve investment decisions. The Forum and related sessions centered on the use of Fintech to advance inclusion and sustainable investment aims. The discussion included the potential of blockchain-based project bonds to close infrastructure financing gaps, the macroeconomic factors influencing credit risk in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and the role of individual attention triggers on financial risk-taking behavior.

Keynote Addresses: Leveraging Fintech for a Strong Post-COVID-19 Recovery in Asia

Dr Bambang Susantono Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Asian Development Bank

An International Forum on Global Financial Stability during COVID, 2020

The IGF has been promoting policies and measures that could increase the resilience of the national and global financial stability. An international forum was held to discuss the role of interconnected forces that could influence both global systemic risks and also individual and global financial security and global prosperity, taking into account issues related to global pandemic.

Keynote: Dr Jonathan Kearns, Head of Financial Stability, The Reserve Bank of Australia