IMF Conference

Last Updated: April 18, 2005

Program

Financial intermediaries, corporations and governments in advanced and emerging markets are increasingly using securitization and structured finance to design new funding instruments, to manage and transfer risks, and to develop their financial markets. Securitization is the process of creating and issuing securities backed by a pool of assets. Structured finance, broadly defined, refers to the repackaging of cash flows that can transform the risk, return, and liquidity characteristics of financial portfolios. As these tools are used more widely, policymakers and regulators are facing new challenges.

The seminar will:

• examine the process of securitization and the creation of structured products;
  
  
• discuss the attractiveness of asset-backed securities and structured instruments for investors; |
• analyze how different players manage the risks associated with these instruments;
  
  
• explore the role of securitization and structured finance in the development of capital markets;
  
  
• identify the main supervisory and regulatory challenges, and
  
  
• assess the implications for financial stability.

The seminar program consists of four sessions:

I. The first session will examine the process of asset securitization and the creation of structured financial products, and raise some relevant policy issues.

II. In the second session, market practitioners will present their views on the benefits and risks of securitization and structured finance and discuss how the risks can be managed, and how such products can contribute to capital market development.

III. The third session will explore the regulatory, supervisory, macroeconomic and financial stability issues raised by these new financial instruments.

IV. In the last session, a panel will discuss the experience of advanced countries and the lessons for emerging market countries.

Attendance is by invitation only. Queries regarding the seminar may be addressed to INSINFO@imf.org.

Agenda
Tuesday, April 19
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.	Registration and Coffee
9:00 a.m.–9:15 a.m.	Opening Remarks
	Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director, IMF
	Leslie Lipschitz, Director, IMF Institute
Session 1	Asset Securitization and Structured Finance: Products, Players, and Issues
	Chair: Raghuram Rajan, Economic Counselor and Director, Research Department, IMF
	Speakers:
9:15 a.m.–10:15 a.m.	Salih Neftci, Professor of Financial Economics, Graduate School, CUNY, New York; FAME, Geneva, Switzerland
	Coffee Break
10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m.	Janet Tavakoli, President, Tavakoli Structured Finance, Inc., Chicago
11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m.	Open Discussion
12:30 p.m.–2:00 p.m.	Lunch (by invitation only)
Session 2	Market Views on Benefits and Risks of Asset Securitization and Structured Finance
	Chair: Todd Groome, Chief, Financial Market Stability Division, International Capital Markets Department, IMF
	Speakers:
2:00 p.m.– 2:30 p.m.	Krishna Memani, Managing Director and Global Head of Credit Strategy, Credit Suisse First Boston, New York
2:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m.	Curtis A. Mewbourne, Executive Vice President, Corporate Credit and Investments, PIMCO
3:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.	Antulio N. Bomfim, Portfolio Manager, Oppenheimer Funds, Boston
	Coffee break
4:00 p.m.– 4:30 p.m.	Guillermo Babatz, Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Society (FMS), Mexico
4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.	Open Discussion
Wednesday, April 20
Session 3	Regulatory, Supervisory and Financial Stability Implications
	Chair: Sunil Sharma, Chief, Asian Division, IMF Institute
	Speakers:
9:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.	Kimberly A. Slawek, Group Managing Director, European Structured Finance, Fitch Ratings Ltd.
9:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.	Michael Carhill, Director, Risk Analysis, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, USA
10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.	Amaro Gomes, Head, Financial System Regulation Department, Banco Central do Brasil
	Coffee Break
11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.	Colin Miles, Adviser, Macro Prudential Risks Division, Financial Stability Department, Bank of England, UK
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.	Open Discussion
12:30 p.m.– 2:00 p.m.	Lunch (by invitation only)
Session 4 Panel Discussion	Experience of Advanced Countries and Lessons for Emerging Markets
	Chair: Leslie Lipschitz, Director, IMF Institute
	Speakers:
2:00 p.m.–2:20 p.m.	Darryll Hendricks, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, USA
2:20 p.m.–2:40 p.m.	James H. Lau Jr., Chief Executive, Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation,Hong Kong SAR
2:40 p.m.–3:00 p.m.	Lee Meddin, Deputy Treasurer and Global Head of Structured Finance, International Finance Corporation, Washington D.C., USA
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.	Open Discussion and Concluding Remarks.