Mitigating the effects of Black Swans & other devastating effects on business economies

Roundtable discussion with guest speaker Matthias Wittenburg Commerzbank Corporates & Markets, Frankfurt, Germany. Who would have thought that the eruption of a volcano in Iceland could halt the Atlantic air traffic for a week or that a Japanese nuclear power plant could break down, resulting in a significant disturbance of supply chains? While disasters have always occurred, current globalization and just-in-time production methods have added to the vulnerability of economies and businesses today. Many black swans can be avoided or, at least, mitigated by means of sophisticated risk management. This is why the role of banks, both as think tanks and financial intermediaries, is becoming more relevant. They witness strongly enhanced interest by corporate treasuries when it comes to addressing the possible cash flow impacts of disturbing events. Former borders between insurance and banking products are vanishing. The increasing role of so called ‘catastrophe bonds’ is an example. Mr. Wittenburg came to Boston, fresh from his speaking engagement at the annual Euromoney Germany conference in Berlin, one of the flagship events for the German financial industry. ACG & GABC were honored and delighted to welcome him to Boston for this informative presentation.