Resilience of the Financial System to Natural Disasters

Introduction

The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 and others before it were caused by the endogenous instability of the financial system. The COVID-19 crisis is an entirely different crisis, one that is caused by an external shock that can be described as a natural disaster.

How resilient is the financial system to natural disasters? The COVID-19 crisis provides a large-scale natural experiment to address this question, and squarely puts natural disasters, whether they be pandemics or climate catastrophes, on the agenda of financial institutions and bank regulators.

The report to be discussed studies in what way climate and natural disaster risk is different from other more familiar forms of financial and economic risk, and how banks, asset managers and central banks can grapple with climate change and natural disasters. COVID-19 provides a test case on how to manage both ex ante and ex post disaster risk.

Note: This conference is held under Chatham House Rules. Participants are free to use the information discussed, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speakers, nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.

Schedule

Online Conference

March 17, 2021 – 15:00 to 18:15 (CET time)

March 18, 2021 – 15:00 to 18:00 (CET time)

Program

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

15:00 – Welcome and Opening

• Jordi Canals, IESE Business School

• Beatrice Weder di Mauro, Centre for Economic Policy Research

• Xavier Vives, IESE Business School

• Pablo Hernández de Cos, Banco de España

15:30 – Natural Disasters, Climate Change, and Central Banks 

• Patrick Bolton, Columbia University

Discussant 1: Sylvie Goulard, Banque de France

Discussant 2: Sabine Mauderer, Deutsche Bundesbank

Chair: Fernando Restoy, Bank for International Settlements

16:45 Break

17:00 – Do Asset Managers Respond to Natural Disasters?

• Marcin Kacperczyk, Imperial College London

Discussant 1: Robert Eccles, Saïd Business School – Oxford

Discussant 2: Stefano Giglio, Yale School of Management

Chair: Patricia Mosser, Columbia University

18:15 – End first day

Thursday, March 18, 2021

15:00 – Welcome

• Xavier Vives, IESE Business School

15:05 – Mitigating Disaster Risks to the Financial System

• Harrison Hong, Columbia University

Discussant 1: John Hassler, IIES- Stockholm University

Discussant 2: Robert Litterman, Kepos Capital

Chair: Elena Carletti, Bocconi University

16:20 Break

16:30 – Nobel Dialogue

• Robert F. Engle, Stern School of Business NYU

• Lars P. Hansen, University of Chicago

Chair: Xavier Vives, IESE Business School

17:40 – Conclusion

• Hélène Rey, London Business School

• Xavier Vives, IESE Business School

18:00 – Close of meeting

For more information please contact: officevives@iese.edu