Tag: GMF

To earn a Global Master of Finance (GMF), degree from Olin requires hard work and lots of travel. Students spend half of the 18-month program in St. Louis and the other half in one of three partner schools. GMF students who have studied at Singapore Management University and Yonsei University School of Business in Seoul, South Korea will receive their degrees in a ceremony at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 in Emerson Auditorium, Knight Hall.

The ceremony will be live streamed and the recording will be available for viewing at this site: http://stream.nts.wustl.edu/OlinGMF_AUG2016

Students at partner school IDC Herzliya in Israel are unable to attend the ceremony in St. Louis.

GMF Class of 2016 will be the first to receive the Centennial souvenir zipper pull on their graduation gowns in honor of the school’s 100th anniversary.

The Outstanding Finance Student Award will be presented to Victor Riady and Mengchuan Kitty Wang. The award goes to the students who, in the judgment of the faculty, exhibit the strongest academic achievement and the most potential in the field of finance.

Prerna Gulati has been selected as student speaker. Todd Milbourn, Senior Associate Dean and the Hubert C. and Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance will be the master of ceremonies.

Tweet your graduation wishes with the hashtag: #Olin100

Visit the Olin100 Centennial website.

On Friday, May 27, the last day of our trip in Washington, DC, our first speaker was Jim Wigand, Managing Director at Millstein & Co. He formerly served as the first director of the Office of Complex Financial Institutions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and as a Senior Advisor to the FDIC Chairman. Although we were all somewhat fatigued after a hectic two weeks, Mr. Wigand’s voice, akin to a news reporter, woke us up. He provided an overview of the FDIC, such as the timeline of its establishment, its primary goals, and the key areas on which it focuses. In addition, he also explained the FDIC’s resolution for banks and thrifts when they are in trouble. After Mr. Wigand’s speech, we all have a better understanding of the relationship between banks and the FDIC.

After a short break, we had our second session of the final day: U.S. Financial Regulations from Cecelia Calaby, Senior VP and Executive Director of the American Bankers Association (ABA). Ms. Calaby focused on the area of regulatory policy, securities, trust, and investment at the ABA. Her session was borne from her past work experience, and she offered her thoughts about the US banking industry. First, she shared with us about her background, and how she became the Senior VP of the ABA from serving as a banker at a local bank. She then told us about her experience at a banking simulation program she recently attended. Before taking part in the program, Cecelia thought that monitoring banks’ balance sheets was pretty straight forward. After the program, however, her opinion had changed entirely as a result of the difficult situations she had to face during the training. Additionally, Cecelia gave us her thoughts about what she has seen in the past that still happens in the U.S. banking industry today. In the end, she described some of the biggest challenges that the U.S. has experienced since the Great Recession. She also explained how the ABA supplied information to the public about what was really going on during the subprime financial crisis.

Our last speaker of immersion course was Jonathan Weisman, an economic policy journalist from The New York Times. He passionately discussed today’s current events, and generously reviewed public opinions toward Donald Trump, a topic which most speakers avoid. Jonathan’s was asked where he stands when there exists a conflict between the public’s right to know and authorities’ requirement to keep certain information confidential. He told us that it was the New York Times’ tradition to lean on the side of the public’s right to know. Jonathan also shared that the Chinese New York Times website has been blocked by the Chinese government, but that The New York Times keeps updating the website every day, expecting to one day “break the wall.”

After the three speeches today, we visited the National Gallery of Art, one of the most famous art museums in the United States. The Gallery’s collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and medals traces the development of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the present. It includes the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas and the largest mobile created by Alexander Calder. The collections were so impressive; we would like to come again.

The last two weeks were intense and busy, but all of us feel a great deal of satisfaction in being exposed to things that we have never experienced before. We tend to think that Wall Street bankers and American regulators are far from our life, but we learned from these very people and discovered that they are leading American finance to a better future. Finally, we sincerely appreciate Rich, Jamie, Jessica, and Ian for teaching and helping us during these two weeks. Thank you!

Guest Bloggers: Peiyu Wang, Chufeng (Caroline) Ding, Xiheng (Freddy) Shen, Xiaofei (Dora) Liu (GMF 2016)

This is a series of blogs chronicling the experiences of 41 Global Master of Finance (GMF) dual degree students during their two week immersion course in New York and Washington, DC. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.

Our morning session on May 26 kicked off with Jason Gould and Richard Choi, two inspiring speakers from Carlton Field Jorden Burt. Carlton Fields is a leading provider of legal and consultation services, mostly to financial institutions, offering solutions to compliance systems and fighting for clients in court. They described the necessity of regulation and the degree of regulation that will protect the industry as well as avoid burdening the business. After various meetings with legislative representatives, we complete our tour in D.C. by hearing from the other side of the aisle. We saw their passion and commitment to speak for regulation objectives and represent their interests. Regulation and legislation together make the financial industry healthy and secure.

Next, we departed for Capitol Hill and met with Mr. Ron Klein, a former U.S. Congressman for Florida in the House of Representatives. He served on the full Financial Services Committee, and was also a member of the subcommittee on capital markets, insurance, and government-sponsored enterprises, in addition to the subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer credit. With all this experience, he shared with us his opinions on the mortgage industry, Sarbanes Oxley, the 2007-2009 financial crisis, Fintech, government regulation, student loans, and even his thoughts on the TV series House of Cards.

During the speech, we heard the buzzers from the clock on the wall several times. Mr. Klein explained to us that if there are 5 bells and 5 lights on the left, there is a five-minute vote taking place. If there are 3 bells, a pause, and 5 more bells, there is a 15-minute quorum call immediately after the five-minute recorded vote.

After a short lunch break, we headed to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a meeting to learn about its history and current role. The speaker began by sharing with us the history of the IMF, and providing insight into the IMF’s roots and its founders. Basically, it is an international central bank which promotes financial stability and cooperation between countries. We have come to appreciate its role as an international corporation. In the Q&A session, one student asked about how to determine if a country’s currency is undervalued or overvalued. The speaker spent a good deal of time answering the question, solving the doubt for students.

After leaving the IMF, we finally got the chance to explore the mysterious and globally renowned Brookings Institute. We then came back to the conference room and learned from Mr. Paul Gumagay, Senior Special Counsel, Office of International Affairs at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Mr. Gumagay’s speech was very comprehensive. He started from the very beginning of the SEC and outlined the history and structure of the organization. His presentation was also full of stories from the finance world, which helped us better understand the significance of financial regulations.

In the Q&A session, Mr. Gumagay answered questions concerning regulation of crowdfunding, lending clubs, and other kinds of financial technology firms. Combining this with what we’ve already learned about Fintech and regulation, we now have a more thorough understanding of the concept of Fintech, and how people can better utilize it to make the financial world more efficient and accessible.

Guest Bloggers: Qu (Ashley) Chen, Jialu (Lily) Zhu, Zhiru (Shirley) Lin, Mengchuan (Kitty) Wang (GMF 2016)

This is a series of blogs chronicling the experiences of 41 Global Master of Finance (GMF) dual degree students during their two week immersion course in New York and Washington, DC. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.

Today’s first lecture was given by Peggy Peterson, a Senior Advisor at Baker Hostetler and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Michael Oxley. As a versatile member of the government policy group, she has a solid background in policy and communications.

Today’s speech was about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), which was passed by the U.S. Congress to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations, therefore improving the accuracy of corporate disclosures. Ms. Peterson first shared some fond memories of Mr. Oxley and then detailed the creation of the Act beginning in 2001. After fully discussing its impact, she answered several questions from us with insightful answers.

Next, we visited the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Our guest speaker, Marc Mealy, Vice President of Policy on the US-ASEAN Business Council, is very passionate, and had over 20 years of experience in international trading and economics.

Mr. Mealy first gave us a brief introduction to ASEAN and the role they play during the trading process. Next, he discussed the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and what the Asian countries learned from the crisis. He then introduced the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We really enjoyed the site visit and enjoyed enhanced awareness about international trading.

After a trip to the exterior of the White House, we had an opportunity to listen to a speech given by two directors from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR): Alexandra Victor and Mitch Gainer. Ms. Victor began with a detailed introduction of USTR. She mentioned the USTR’s mission and expertise, and emphasized its relationship with the trade policy advisory committee system and Congress. After Mr. Gainer spoke, the Q&A session started. The speakers first answered a question about intellectual property, and then pointed out that messaging was also a focus of USTR, in addition to economic gain. Next, they stressed the importance of negotiation when mediating the conflicts among TPP members. Finally, Mr. Gainer shared his experience of working for the Obama campaign.

Next, Kara Miller of the Office of Enforcement within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spoke to the group. She gave us an overview of the CFPB, the functions of each department, and multiple tools for consumer protection in order to improve fairness and transparency of the market. Many of our classmates asked challenging questions, and we had a great conversation with Ms. Miller.

Our last speaker of the day was Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former Chief Economic Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden. We were grateful to listen to his speech, which was so insightful, as Mr. Bernstein is a passionate and knowledgeable professional. He answered different questions with regard to the different aspects of the economy, and whether it is in the midst of a strong recovery or a recession. He was willing to share his opinions on what the government has gotten wrong and what the government can do to improve. His view on the current political economy gave us a general perception of the overall economy which is fascinating. After a great day today, we look forward to our trip tomorrow!

Guest Bloggers: Ziwen (Jason) Huang, Daiwei Shi, Junyan (Eric) Zhang, Dong An (GMF 2016)

This is a series of blogs chronicling the experiences of 41 Global Master of Finance (GMF)dual degree students during their two week immersion course in New York and Washington, DC. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.

The second day of the Washington, D.C. immersion primarily consisted of three parts: heading to the World Bank Group to learn the basic working process of this multinational financial institution, the Export-Import Bank to study the government’s role and function to help its corporations, and a lecture regarding the Dodd-Frank Act, to gain a more specific view of one of the most influential legislative acts on financial institutions.

Our first stop today was at the World Bank Group (WBG), one of the most important financial institutions fighting against poverty. The speaker, Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, gave us a comprehensive overview of the institution. The mission of WBG is ending poverty—moral and spiritual. We were very intrigued by its history. WBG was created in 1944 after World War II, and initially aimed to provide loans for European countries to rebuild their homes. Currently, it focuses on providing loans to poor countries in the world. The class was shocked when Adam showed us pictures of people who have no food, no clean water, or no shelter. The entire speech was very inspiring and educational.

We returned to the Brookings Institution and prepared for a lecture in the afternoon. The first speaker was Amy Shinkman, Director of the Trade Finance Division at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EX-IM). Interestingly, in the US, EX-IM has a nickname called “Bank of Boeing,” because of its huge engagement in supporting Boeing exports. As an independent government agency, directly reporting to President Obama, EX-IM is primarily responsible for providing loans and guarantees for the purchase of goods from U.S. companies. Amy compared the difference between the commercial banks and EX-IM, and stated that EX-IM commonly does what commercial banks motivated by maximizing profits are unwilling to do. In a way, EX-IM sounds like a hero, busy with helping small businesses and picking the hard nuts to crack. Thus, Amy mentioned that the target of EX-IM is not to earn profit, but to make sure not to lose money. Their job is to “save the world”!

We ended the day with a speech from Aaron Klein, who serves as Director of the Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center. His lecture topic was the Dodd-Frank Act, as he previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Department of the Treasury, and part of his job was to work on the crafting of the Dodd-Frank Act. His speech was very insightful. He began by discussing the two main issues that could lead to financial crisis, and then proceeded to the main topic of his speech, focusing on the context in which the Dodd-Frank Act was created, and the problems that the act was intended to address. What is quite interesting about his speech is that he shared his perspective that there is too much regulation on the financial system, and explained why this can be both a good and bad thing for the system. We all enjoyed the speech very much because Mr. Klein is very knowledgeable on the subject and extremely passionate about it.

Guest Bloggers: Jie (Zoe) Zhou, Sijia (Tina) Guo, Bingzhang Shan, Huihui Zhang (GMF 2016)

This is a series of blogs chronicling the experiences of 41 Global Master of Finance (GMF)dual degree students during their two week immersion course in New York and Washington, DC. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.

After a whirlwind week in New York, we headed south to Washington, D.C. to immerse ourselves in the workings of government and financial regulation with Olin’s Brookings Executive Education (BEE) team as our guide. The day started with welcoming remarks and introductions from Ian Dubin, Associate Director, and Chris Mancini, Program Coordinator. They explained the general agenda for the week, and the long and special history between the Brookings Institution and Washington University in St. Louis.

After the brief introduction, Mr. Dubin gave us an overview about the basic structures of U.S. government and legislative processes to set the stage for the week. He explained the unique roles of the Executive Branch, Senate and House of Representatives, and the complexity of the legislative process.

We also learned about the Brookings think tank and how it contributes to making public policy. The Brookings Institution is one of the most important and influential public policy research think tanks in the world.

The rest of the day was spent learning more about the various key financial sector regulators as well as learning directly from current and former regulators from both the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

First, we learned from David Wessel, who is the Director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. He briefly explained the function of the United States Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), and also introduced 10 micro-prudential regulators in the system, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and The Federal Reserve, to name a few. Although the FSOC provided the chairperson of each of the 10 agencies with the opportunity to communicate with each other, he stated that those 10 chairs have different missions and have issued regulations on financial institutions (banks) that are conflicting. This resulted in banks having a hard time fulfilling the requirements outlined by different regulators. He also touched upon the importance of Macro-Prudential Regulation (FSOC role), and highlighted the differences between finance and other industries, especially in terms of contagion risk. Last but not the least, he compared the FSOC structure with that of the Bank of England.

Winthrop Hambley speaks to Olin students during their visit with Brookings Executive Education.

Our last speaker of the day was Winthrop Hambley, former Senior Advisor, Board of Governors, The Federal Reserve. He first introduced the structure of the Federal Reserve and its key monetary policy-making body, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

He then proceeded to explain to us both traditional monetary policies as well as non-traditional monetary policies, which were introduced after the financial crisis–namely, large scale asset purchases, forward guidance, and maturity extension.

Last but not least, to address the popular topic of the Fed rate hike expectation, he spent some time explaining to us the rate normalization process and considerations during Q&A.

This is part of a series of blogs chronicling the experiences of 41 Global Master of Finance (GMF) dual degree students during their two week long immersion course in New York and Washington, DC. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.