On 16th November 2009, SUERF, CEPS and the Belgian Financial Forum coorganized a conference "Crisis management at cross-roads" in Brussels. All papers in the present volume are based on contributions at the conference and the SUERF Annual Lecture which followed the event.

Modern society mitigates and transfers risks in a variety of ways, which range from catastrophe prevention and insurance solutions through to injustices of a minor and inconspicuous nature. We illustrate that the measures taken depend on the uncertainty about the risks in question, and involve...

The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of credit risk mitigation via margining on the optimal portfolio selection for power plants. We develop a model to estimate margining cashflows that is based on the clearing framework of the European Commodity Clearing AG (ECC), on stochastic...

This study analyzes the interaction effects of corporate hedging activities of electric utility firms facing a manifold risk exposure consisting of several market price risks. We employ 16 recent introductions of markets for trading electricity derivatives as a quasi-natural experiment. The...

The growth in variable renewable energy (vRES) and the need for flexibility in power systems go hand in hand. We study how vRES and other factors, namely the price of substitute fuels, power price volatility, structural breaks, and seasonality impact the hedgeable power spreads (profit margins)...

A strategically minded CFO will realize that strategic corporate risk management is about finding the right balance between risk prevention and proactive value generation. Efficient risk and performance management requires adequate assessment of risk and risk exposures on the one hand and...

This paper develops a quantitative framework for analyzing the impact of macroeconomic conditions on credit risk and dynamic capital structure choice. We begin by observing that when cash flows depend on current economic conditions, there will be a benefit for firms to adapt their default and...

A strategically minded CFO will realize that strategic corporate risk management is about finding the right balance between risk prevention and proactive value generation. Efficient risk and performance management requires adequate assessment of risk and risk exposures on the one hand and...

We investigate financial intermediaries’ interest rate risk management as the simultaneous decision of on-balance-sheet exposure and interest rate swap use. Our findings show that both decisions are substitute risk management strategies. A higher likelihood of bank distress makes banks reduce...

On 3 December EY hosted a SUERF conference on banking reform with Sir Howard Davies, the Chairman of RBS, and Dame Colette Bowe, the Chairman of the Banking Standards Board, as the two keynote speakers. Professor David Miles (Imperial College) gave the SUERF 2015 Annual Lecture on Capital and...