FIELD PROJECT
FINANCIAL MARKETS AND SERVICES
(ECON S-532)
Prof. Eric De Keuleneer
Prof. Pierre Francotte
Eric Boyer de la Giroday (Chairman, ING
Belgium)
Year: 2014-15
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Field Project - General
• You have to register for one Field Project.
• Choice between:
– European Regulation/ECONS-533
– European and International Business/GESTS-543
– Financial Markets and Services/ECONS-532
• Deadline for registration: Wednesday 11/2.
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Purpose of Field Projects
• Put you in a context similar to a stage in a company
either as an employee or as a consultant:
– produce and present a team report containing analyses
and recommendations.
– produce two individual summary notes (1 page).
• Help you learn how to prepare a report, like in a real
professional environment, including:
– how to interact with your « employer »
– how to work in team with « colleagues » under set
deadlines
– how to produce a report and make a presentation that
meet the objectives of your audience.
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Real life setting
• An important facet of what you will learn is to
manage the complexities of operating in an uncertain
environment and limited control over time and
resources, such as:
– Managing expectations of an « employer » (Professor),
– Working with colleagues (fellow students in your team or
other teams) who can help or hinder your objectives,
– Seeking to analyse situations:
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with incomplete or uncertain information and data, and yet...
having to formulate useful conclusions and...
make clear recommendations,
within a timetable that is typically constrained.
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FP Theme: Unintended Consequences
• “Unintended consequences of actions or
regulations by EU authorities.”
• 7 different topics in financial field (cf below).
• Objective is to have you:
– think beyond the obvious,
– do it with intellectual rigour, and
– develop feasible solutions.
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Topics
Topic
New banking regulation
SIFIs
Solvency II
Topic
High Frequency Trading
Asset Managers
CCP Regulation
Trading Venues
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1. The new banking regulatory
environment
• The financial crisis has triggered a vast range of
changes in regulation and supervision of banks.
These changes clearly aim at making financial
intermediation safer and avoid the disasters
experienced. Has enough or too much been
done and what consequences can be expected
from macro and micro economic point of views?
• Team: Aerts, Kerschenmeyer, Scarcez ,Sidorov.
• Professor: Eric Boyer.
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2. SIFIs
• Big is not necessarily beautiful, but small is
not enough. Taking a critical look at
regulations more specifically affecting SIFIs
(Systemically Important Financial
Institutions), is it serving its purpose without
negative consequences?
• Team: Codescu, Guerkinger, Theisen,
Willems.
• Professor: Eric Boyer.
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3. Solvency II regulation
• The insurance sector in Europe is confronted
to a major change in regulation. This
regulation will have substantial impacts on
assets holding and allocation in insurance
companies and beyond the sector. For the
better or the worst?
• Team: Grosjean, Lemince, Thirion, Wagner.
• Professor: Eric Boyer.
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4. High Frequency Trading
• HFT has become a main feature of stock and
derivative exchanges. It has been villified by
some and defended by others, but in any
case regulation is on the way. What positive
and negative impact could this regulation
have beyond what the policy-makers expect?
• Team: David, Hourriez, Kabarakis, Scheer.
• Professor: Pierre Francotte.
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5. Regulation of Asset Managers
• There has been a flurry of new regulations on
asset managers, whether UCIT funds or
alternative investment managers. It is expected
by policy-makers to strengthen financial stability
and improve customer protection. What are
possible unintended consequences and should
we worry about them?
• Team: De Schrevel, Mehovic, Richtrovà,
Porfirova.
• Professor: Pierre Francotte.
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6. CCP Regulation
• Central counterparties are playing a key role
in the new regulatory framework, whether
for derivatives or bonds/equities. This
increased role is designed to reduce risk in
the market. How has the regulation of CCPs
been calibrated and have all key
consequences been sufficiently assessed?
• Team: Dôme, Fawe, Heer, Wierzbicka.
• Professor: Pierre Francotte.
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7. Trading venues regulation
• MiFID sought to create more competitition for
exchanges by new « trading venues» so as to
improve services and reduce prices. It had some
unintended consequences, which prompted the
adoption of MiFID II. What other unintended
consequences could emerge from MiFID II and
has a proper balance now been found?
• Team: Friederes, Musumeci, Petit, Sonesson.
• Professor: Pierre Francotte.
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FP Structure
• Group report and presentations (February-April)
– 8 groups, each examining one topic, with support
from either EB or PF
• Lectures and Individual Notes (end April-May)
– 4-5 lectures where lessons of the topics of reports
are examined in greater depth, examining
transversal implications.
– Each student must produce two 1-page notes on
topics discussed in class.
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Report and presentation
• Your final output is a written report and an
oral presentation of the report to a panel
that includes your professors and some
external experts, in front of the whole class.
• You will prepare an outline and get input
from your Professor on a draft of this outline
so as to ensure you are on the right track.
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Output of teams
• Each team will have to:
– prepare an outline
– submit a report
– make an oral presentation
• with the support of a power point presentation.
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But with individual input
• Each member of the team will have to:
– take the lead in a specific part of the report
– present the corresponding part to the panel
– answer specific questions from panel.
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Outline
• 3-page note.
• Must include:
– basic storyline of the report,
– preliminary « selected » bibliography, and
– next steps for work to be done and timetable.
• To be submitted to Professor by Friday,
27/02.
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Report
• Max 15-page paper (excluding bibliography).
• Must provide analysis of issues and articulate
conclusions based on scientific analysis and
research.
– Not a « journalistic » description.
– Master thesis methodology.
• Final draft submitted to Professor by Monday
13/04.
• Final paper circulated to all students by Friday
17/04.
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Presentation
• Each team will make a presentation
– summarizing key points of the report,
– supported by a power point presentation.
• Presentation to a panel playing the role of
« decision-maker » on analysis.
• Presentation in front of full class.
– Probing questions from panel/audience like in a real life
professional environment.
• Presentations on 22/04 and 29/04.
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Grading
• Your grade will be based on the report and the individual
notes.
• Report:
– the outline,
– the report,
– the oral presentation and supporting PPT
• Assessed like in a real life working environment:
– the technical substance of the output, but also
– the quality of the argumentation (how convincing, presentation,
structure, etc),
– autonomy from the Professor and effectiveness of interaction
with teammates in the preparation, and
– ability to meet deadlines.
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Timetable - Class
• Dates:
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February 4: Introduction
February 11: Follow up and launch of Group Reports
April 22: Oral Presentations
April 29: Oral Presentations
May 6: Lecture 1
May 13: Lecture 2
May 20: Lecture 3
May 27: Lecture 4
• Attendance required (individual notes).
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Next steps
• Team composition will be confirmed by
Wednesday 11/2
– No pre-constituted groups
– Composition organised by professors
– Each student may express individual preference
for up to 3 topics
• indicating order of preference
• if more requests than slots, selection will be made by
luck of the draw.
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Contact
• E-mail address Pierre Francotte:
pierre.l.francotte@gmail.com
or
pfrancot@ulb.ac.be
• Website: francotte.wordpress.com
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