Agenda

Thursday 3 June 2010

CHAIRS' OPENING REMARKS

Financial Inclusion - The Next Chapter

With an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide lacking bank accounts and access to credit, and effectively excluded from achieving their full personal and economic potential, the issue of financial inclusion has gained new urgency amongst governments worldwide. The call to action was reflected in the recent G20 Communiqué pledging new initiatives and institutions to support the objective of financial inclusion for all.

• In a technology-intense world, how can banks and financial institutions harness and develop new technologies and innovative products and services to include this market segment in the formal financial sector?
• What are the limitations of current technologies?
• Is social entrepreneurship the solution?

Global Food Security - Can we Feed and Save the Planet?

The global food supply chain is in turmoil. The structural problems which caused a spike in food prices last year are still in place, and point to the potential for further volatility and food shortages in the future. A radical rethink is required to the way the global food supply is organised and financed. Any proposed solutions, however, need to take account of the significant impact of agriculture on climate change, and be vigilant to the working conditions amongst producers to avoid the worst excesses which have plagued some sectors of the commodity supply chain in the past.

• What are the innovative financial techniques to improve productivity of agriculture in the developing world (e.g. creating collateral through forward off take agreements, creating and encouraging local market creation)?
• Ensuring sustainability of investments (e.g. taking account of sustainable land use and resource efficiency in investment decision making)
• What is the role of standards and certification, particularly in the commodities supply chains, to ensure standards of sustainability are met, and to mitigate risk in finance and investment?

Matching Private Finance to the Needs of Low-Carbon Growth in Emerging Markets

Helping developing countries shift to low-carbon growth - and financing that shift - requires public policies, public investment and private investment. The level of investment required has been estimated at approximately $500bn annually. Public money can only go far, and the capital markets in particular have a significant role to play - through leveraging and the trillions of dollars held in pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and asset management to supplement scarce government funds and credit.

• What are the viable public-private mechanisms to reduce and share the risks of private investment in climate friendly technologies and infrastructures?
• A new bond architecture for climate change? The role of climate change funds and other long term investment products.
• Pension funds and fiduciary duty-time for reform?
• Next steps: what will be the next generation products and innovations?

Closing Address

FT Sustainable Banking Awards Dinner and Reception

The award categories for 2010 are:

    * Sustainable Bank of the Year
    * Emerging Markets Sustainable Bank of the Year
    * Achievement in Basic Needs Financing
    * Achievement in Banking at the Base of the Pyramid
    * Sustainable Investor of the Year