The Payment Cards Center and the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia are co-organizing their ninth biennial conference focusing on new research in consumer credit and payments.

This conference is dedicated to special topics in credit risk measurement and management as well as to the discussion of causes and impacts of events on international financial markets and current regulatory activities in the field. Thereby, the conference is intended to expand the knowledge on the functioning of the credit business through discussion of both existing and new methods and models of credit analysis, credit risk management and related topics such as relationship lending and regulation.

Shadow banking is a broad concept. A possible definition is that it comprises non-bank institutions which do bank-like activities. Another characteristic, to which the word “shadow” refers to, is that the sector is less regulated. Shadow banks can increase competition and spur new innovation in the financial sector. The benefits could come in the form of i) improving efficiency and quality of financial services, and ii) offering better returns and risk diversification opportunities, especially for institutional investors and wealthy individuals. Markets may also become more liquid. On the downside, opacity and risks may increase. The lack of regulation implies that it is difficult to monitor and prevent the build-up of leverage and concentrated risks in the shadow banking sector. Hence, the sector can be a source of systemic risks. Further, traditional banks may utilize the shadow banking sector for regulatory arbitrage. Hence, a big question is whether regulation should be extended to the shadow banking sector, to make it come “out of the shadows”? Will new regulatory loopholes between banks and non-banks develop? Will risks simply pile up in the shadow banking sector now that banks are more heavily regulated? Or will market discipline suffice to do the job of regulation in this sector? Is the growth of shadow banking this time more about FinTech; the provision of financial services making use of technological innovations? What are the fundamental problems of financial frictions they might have solved differently? Are new digital technologies key to finding solutions to the traditional financing frictions? Or are we experiencing just another boom in novel-looking financial services which ultimately share the same problems and risks as more traditional banks?

The Montreal Institute of Structured Finance and Derivatives will host its sixth conference on September 14 & 15, 2017. This year’s edition will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to discuss a wide range of issues associated with derivatives. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

The La Trobe Business School is pleased to present the 7^th Behavioural Finance and Capital Markets conference.   Bringing together finance scholars and practitioners and research students to participate in and partake in the presentation of state-of-the-art research in the fields of Behavioural Finance, Experimental Finance and Capital Markets/Market Microstructure.  The event will be held on the City Campus of La Trobe University in 360 Collins Street, Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday 25-26 of September 2017. A tour of selected boutique Yarra Valley wineries after the Conference on Wednesday 27 September will offer an opportunity for informal networking.

The Trading Show 2017 agenda is the most ambitious and comprenhensive yet. Fully incorporating the Quant Invest event, the programme will bring together over 80 senior speakers discussing the most crucial factors affecting the creation of the trading desk of the future.