Systemic Risk: Inevitable or Preventable?

Moderator
Scarlet Fu, Anchor, Bloomberg

Speakers
Dimitri Demekas, Assistant Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, International Monetary Fund
Fiona Frick, CEO, Unigestion
Michael Piwowar, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Sheard, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, S&P Global
John C. Williams, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

The near-collapse of the financial system in 2008 drove governments and central banks to launch unprecedented cooperative policies and regulations to prevent a greater catastrophe. Eight years later, it's clear the world economy avoided another depression. But with global growth weakening again and fresh upheaval in stock, bond and commodity markets, policymakers face a deepening debate over the effectiveness of their actions -- and what they should do next. As the financial system faces new strains, major central banks are undertaking contradictory policies, with the Federal Reserve tightening credit while many of its peers ease further -- even fostering negative nominal interest rates in Europe and Japan. The turn of events raises more questions about financial system risks and how to contain them. Which policies have been the most effective, with the least collateral damage? What role, if any, do central banks and finance ministries have in managing asset prices? Can systemic risks truly be reduced or eliminated, or merely shifted, thereby masking underlying problems? Our panel of experts will offer their views of recent history and the complex moment we find ourselves in.