Washington, DC Economic Festival
April 17-20, 2024
Partners
Overview
Rising geopolitical tensions and increasing protectionism have heightened the risk of economic fragmentation, even as the global economy remains deeply interconnected through international trade, supply chains and capital flows.
To deliberate on the prevailing dynamics shaping the global economic landscape, our global macro sessions will delve into three pivotal areas: the underlying drivers of the resurgence of the US economy, (i.e., monetary, fiscal and industrial policy), the evolving economic prospects of the Eurozone, and Europe’s ability to build a new competitive model and increase its growth potential in today’s context of global tensions and scarce resources.
Monetary policy currently faces several challenges with considerable uncertainty. Confronted with the resurgence of inflation around the globe, many central banks tightened their stance in recent years. As such, in real time, it is challenging to know when monetary policy has settled on a position that brings inflation down to the central bank inflation targets. There is also continuing debate about current financial stability risks and about the interactions of monetary policy with fiscal policies.
The discussions will also consider a forward-looking agenda for emerging countries. Emerging market (EM) central banking has undergone a major transformation in the past two decades, which has served these economies well during post-Covid high inflation.
We will continue to explore the state of CBDC. Accelerating innovations are shaping payments and finance, generating both benefits and risks. We will be looking at current experiments in various regions – focusing on Central Asia and the Caucasus and examining what is needed in terms of regulation.
Program
April 17
12:15-13:00
Check-in/Registration and Buffet Lunch
13:00-14:15
Exploring the Frontier: AI’s Impact on the Financial Landscape (Panel Bios)
Chair: Daniela Muhaj, Inaugural Associate Director For Research and Technology Initiatives, Georgetown University
Oliver Wuensch, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Kyle S. Hauptman, Vice Chairman, National Credit Union Administration
Timur Turlov, CEO and chairman of the Board, Freedom Holding Corp.
14:15-15:00
Coffee Break
15:00-16:15
CBDC, Cross Border Payment in Practice: Current Update and Potential Macro Implications (Panel Bios)
Chair: Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa Region, Visa
Martin Galystan, Governor Central Bank of Armenia
Andrea M. Maechler, Deputy General Manager, BIS
Binur Zhalenov, CEO National Payment Corporation, Kazakhstan
Subir Lall, Deputy Director, Central Asia and Middle East Department, IMF
April 18
9:30-9:45
Check-in and Welcome Remarks
Marc Uzan, Executive Director, Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee
9:45-10:25
Fire Side Conversation with James Bullard (Panel Bios)
Chair: Jonathan Pingle, Chief US Economist, UBS
James Bullard, Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitchell E. Daniel Jr. School of Business, Distinguished Professor of Service and Professor of Economics, Special Advisor to the President, Purdue University. Former President Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis
10:25-10:35
Coffee Break
10:35-11:45
Blueprints for the Future Monetary System: CBDC, Tokenisation and Unified Ledgers-Theory and Practice (Panel Bios)
Chair: Ousmene Mandeng, Senior Advisor, Accenture
Miguel Diaz, Head Innovation Hub Toronto Centre, BIS
Xiaonan Zou, Head of Innovation and Digital Assets, Group Treasury, UBS
Dong He, Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Departments, IMF
Paul Castillo, General Manager, Reserve Bank of Peru
11:50-12:50
The Global Economy and Global Financial Stability in the Key Currencies Areas (Panel Bios)
Chair: Arend Kapteyn, Global Chief Economist, UBS
Jason Wu, Assistant Director, Global Market Analysis, IMF
Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, Senior Fellow, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Nicola Giammarioli, Member of the Management Board, Secretary General, European Stability Board
Albert Park, Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank
12:50-13:30
Buffet Lunch
13:30-14:45
Europe’s Competitiveness Challenges (Panel Bios)
Chair: Reinout De Bock, Head of European Rates Strategy, UBS
Gediminas Šimkus, Governor, Central Bank of Lithuania
Debora Revoltella, Chief Economist, EIB
Mario Centeno, Governor, Central Bank of Portugal
Lord Jonathan Hill, Former EU Commissioner Financial Services
14:45-15:00
Coffee Break
15:00-16:30
EMERGING MARKETS: The Great Catchup of Emerging Market Central Banking (Panel Bios)
Chair: Elina Ribakova, Head, Senior Fellow PIIE and Bruegel
Part 1 (15:00-16:00)
Jonathan Heath, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Mexico
Boris Vujcic, Governor, National Bank of Croatia
Rashad Cassim, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of South Africa
Barnabás Virág, Deputy Governor Magyar Nemzeti Bank
Piroska Nagy Mohacsi, Visiting Professor, LSE
Part 2 (16:00-16:30)
A Conversation on the Future of the Global Economy and Monetary System: The Search for Resilience (Panel Bios)
Chair: Massimiliano Castelli, Managing Director, UBS Asset Management
Hyun Song Shin, Economic Advisor, BIS
April 20
9:00-9:30
Check-in and Welcome Coffee
9:30-11:00
Update on the State of Play of the Global Sovereign Debt
Chair: Massood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development
Guillaume Chabert, Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, IMF
11:00-11:30
Coffee Break
10:30-12:30
Liquidity Bridge Proposal
Chair: Paola Subacchi, Incoming Chairholder, Sovereign Debt Chair, Sciences Po
Ishac Diwan, Finance for Development, Paris School of Economic
Vera Songwe, Finance Chair of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility and co-Chair of the High-Level Panel for Climate Action
Vera Daves de Sousa, Finance Minister, Angola