ACCESS TO FINANCE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Brussels, 28 - 29
October 2004
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Programme |
organised by
WORLD SAVINGS BANKS INSTITUTE
in association
with
WORLD BANK
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Wednesday, 27 October
2004
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| 19.30 | Welcome Reception at the Brussels Town Hall | ||
| Thursday, 28 October 2004 | |||
| 9.30-10.10 |
Official opening Dr. H. Berndt, President, WSBI; (speech .pdf) Video Message of Mr. J. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank (message) Mr. C. Calari, Vice-President Financial Sector, World Bank |
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| 10.10-11.10 |
Session I: A review
of the obstacles standing in the way of access to finance In many developing countries, the banking system at large does not cater for the needs of all customers. The first session of the conference seeks to provide an overview of the macro-economic, legal and regulatory obstacles, as well as the risks and costs associated with the provision of access to finance. Chairman: Mr. C. De Noose, Chairman of the Management Committee of the WSBI-ESBG Speakers: Mr. T. Beck, Senior Economist, Finance Team of the Development Research Group, World Bank (presentation .ppt); Prof. S. Claessens, Senior Adviser, Business Group Leader Firm Finance, Operations and Policy Department, World Bank (presentation .ppt) |
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| 11.10-11.40 | Coffee Break | ||
| 11.40-13.00 |
Session I (cont’d):
Tasters of regional viewpoints In this panel session, regional obstacles that are linked to the financial infrastructure (physical networks, as well as technological infrastructure and information systems) will be addressed. The speakers will present their views on obstacles to access to finance from their respective regions and will discuss how their environment can evolve to answer some of the identified challenges. Chairman: Mr. R. Keppler, Senior Adviser Financial Sector, World Bank (presentation) Participants: Mr. K.S. Menon, Joint Secretary ( Budget), Ministry of Finance (India) (presentation .ppt); Mr. J. M. Mena Valencia, CEO, Banco Estado (Chile) (presentation .ppt); Mr. M. Napier, CEO, FinMark Trust (South Africa). (presentation .ppt) |
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| 13.00-14.30 | Lunch | ||
| 14.30-16.00 |
Parallel working
groups Working group 1: Financial exclusion in developed countries: reaching the un-banked Commercial banks are cutting their networks by reducing the number of branches in rural and/or deprived areas; they tend to focus on the more profitable customers, creating room for financial exclusion, and, as a next step, wider social exclusion. Key questions to address include: What is the extent and the impact of financial exclusion in developed countries? How can financial institutions create sustainable products for all customers? How can market-drivers and policy-enablers be best combined to broaden access to financial services? Chairman: Mr. B. Jolivet, Ombudsman, French Banking Federation (France) Participants: Mr. J.D. Koch, Executive Vice-President, Charter One Bank (USA) (presentation .ppt); Mr. M. Picot, Membre du Directoire, Caisse d’Epargne Rhône-Alpes-Lyon (France) (presentation .ppt); Mr. A-C. García, President, Caja Granada (Spain) (presentation .ppt / speech .pdf); Prof. T. Gardener, University of Bangor (UK) (presentation .ppt); Rapporteur: Prof. S. Carbó Valverde, Funcas & University of Granada (Spain) |
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Working group 2:
Access to finance in developing countries: diversifying financial
services This working group will present initiatives from developing countries that contribute to the bancarisation of the population. It will highlight the diversification in different financial services – credit, savings, insurance and payments - and link the challenges of reducing financial exclusion with the microfinance sector. Amongst others, it will address the role of alliances between formal financial institutions and other organisations active in providing access to these different financial services. Chairman: Mr. R. Boulter, Deputy Head, Growth & Investment Group, Policy Division, Department for International Development (UK) Participants: Mr. W. Risolia, Vice President, Caixa Econômica Federal (Brazil) (presentation .ppt); Ms. E. Koimett, CEO, Kenya Post Office Savings Bank (Kenya) (presentation .ppt); Mr. B. Balkenhol, Head of Social Finance, Employment Sector, International Labour Organisation (ILO) (presentation .ppt); Mr. D. Terry, Manager, Multilateral Investment Fund Rapporteur: Ms. A. Koning, Adviser Institutional Relations, WSBI |
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Working group 3:
How can SME finance be improved? |
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| 16.00-16.30 | Coffee break | ||
| 16.30-17.45 |
Session II: The
role of savings banks in the provision of access This session will present and discuss the results of a study undertaken on behalf of the World Savings Banks Institute in 2004. With the study the WSBI intends to contribute to global debate on Access to Finance and enrich it with savings banks' values and experiences. Chairman: Mr. A. Azim, Chairman, Bank Simpanan Nasional (Malaysia) Speakers: Mr. A. Roe, Oxford Management Policy Ltd (UK); Mr. S. Peachey, Total Concept Consultancy Ltd (UK) (presentation .ppt) Discussants: Mr. C. Cuevas, Lead Financial Economist, Financial Sector Operations & Policy, World Bank (presentation .ppt); Prof. E. Kempson, Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol (UK) (presentation .ppt) |
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| 19.30 | An evening of music, followed by dinner at the Concert Noble | ||
| Friday, 29 October 2004 | |||
| 9.00 - 9.40 |
Reports of the
working groups Rapporteurs of each working group will present a summary of the discussions and main conclusions. (reports .ppt) |
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| 9.40-11.00 |
Session III:
Successful experiences in improving access to finance Based on case studies, this session will draw lessons from some initiatives in different regions of the world that have succeeded in overcoming the challenges to improve access to financial services. Chairman: Mr. M. Bishop, Business editor of The Economist & member of the Advisory Group for the UN Year of Microcredit Participants: Mr. J. Gavito Mohar, Director General, Bansefi (Mexico) (presentation .ppt); Mr. G. Asvinvichit, President & CEO, Government Savings Bank (Thailand) (presentation .ppt); Mr. D. Grace, Senior Manager, World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) (presentation .ppt); Ms. A. Gaboury, CEO, Développement International Desjardins (Canada) (presentation .ppt) (speech .pdf); Dr. P. Langkamp, CEO, Sparkassenstiftung für Internationale Kooperation (Germany) (presentation .ppt) |
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| 11.00-11.30 | Coffee break | ||
| 11.30-12.30 |
Session IV: The
view and reaction of regional development banks Following the presentation of best practices and the conclusions of the debates throughout the conference, regional development banks will react and give their views on what needs to be done by the private and public sector in order to enhance access to finance. Chairman: Mr. A. Kazmin, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Sberbank (Russia) Speakers: Mr. J.M. Peterschmitt, Director, Bank Lending, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (presentation .ppt); Mr. A. Vives, Deputy Manager, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) (presentation .ppt); Mr. J. Van Heeswijk, Director General, Asian Development Bank (ADB) (speech .pdf) |
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| 12.30-13.15 |
Closing session Facilitating access to finance for SMEs and reducing financial exclusion for the less privileged people are issues that are high on the agenda of European policy makers. In this closing session, the Deputy Director General of the European Investment Bank Group will address the audience on the role the EIB is playing in improving access to finance –not only in the EU but also in other parts of the world. Considering ongoing discussions on Access to Finance he will provide some perspectives for the future. At the end the organisers, the World Savings Banks Institute and World Bank, will conclude the conference drawing on the experiences and analysis presented. Speaker: Mr. T. Hackett, Deputy Director General, European Investment Bank Group (presentation .ppt) Conclusions: Ms. M. Uy, Director, Financial Sector Operations and Policy, World Bank (conclusions .ppt) Mr. C. De Noose, Chairman of the Management Committee, WSBI (conclusion .ppt) |
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| 10.00-12.30 | Presentation of Working Papers | ||
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This session will present working papers that correspond to the issue of access to finance and that have been selected for their high quality and contribution to the access to finance global debate. The papers have been submitted by academics and practitioners and will include:
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| 13.15-14.30 | Lunch | ||