Business School

Annual Australasian Finance and Banking conference

AGSM forum

  • The Institute of Global Finance is the organizer of the annual Australasian Finance and Banking conference. This annual conference is the most significant finance and banking conference in the Asia Pacific region. There have been a number of eminent and outstanding keynote speakers from  leading US Business Schools at this conference’s annual event in 2023.The following keynotes were given at this conference.

    Keynote speakers included:

    • Andrei Shleifer, Harvard University
      “Cognitive Economics”
    • Harrison Hong, Columbia University
      "Impact of Climate Policies on Capital Markets"
    • Darrell Duffie, Sandford University
      “When Should a Central Bank Buy Government Bonds to Support Market Liquidity?”
    • Anthony Saunders, New York University
      “Corporate Loan Spreads and Economic Activity”

    At this conference, over 170 research papers were presented on various topics including the following:

    • ESG
    • Climate Finance
    • Corporate Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Global Banking Stability
    • Cryptocurrencies and Digital Finance
    • Asset Pricing and Derivatives Market
    • Venture Capital
    • Global Financial Stability
    • Interconnectedness and Systemic Risk
    • Corporate Governance,
    • CEO Remuneration
    • Market Microstructure
    • Young and Private Firms
    • Institutional Asset Management
    • Hedge Funds

    Promotion of Research on ESG and Climate Finance

    The IGF has been pro-active in raising awareness about  issues related to ESG and Climate Finance. The IGF has been working with senior researchers from various central banks and financial institutions who are engaged in the application of policies associated with ESG. In 2023,  22 research works were presented by researchers and regulators at an  International Forum on ESG and another Forum on Climate Finance  as part of the 36th Australasian Finance and Banking conference. 

  • The 35th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference (AFBC) was held on 14-16 December 2022, held in a hybrid format, based in Sydney at the UNSW Business School. This conference was organized by the Institute of Global Finance and School of Banking and Finance UNSW. The conference was sponsored by Asian Development Bank, Australian Stock Exchange, BlackRock, Bureau Van Dijk, PwC, Reserve Bank of Australia, and SIRCA. The AFBC has become the most prestigious finance conference in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a gathering of over 290 delegates from 221 institutions and firms, representing over 30 countries. The world’s foremost leaders of thought from the financial community met and shared their research and interest in finance- related fields. Six categories of prizes were awarded, and a total of 179 papers were presented. See Appendix I for the conference proceedings. The conference also engaged with the finance industry and policy makers by hosting a major international business forum and launching a great International business Forum on Climate Change. The conference additionally offered a PhD Forum on 13 December where four PhD students from top international business schools presented their work and received comments from eminent scholars.

    Keynote speakers included:

    • Professor Viral Acharya, New York University
    • Professor Stijn Claessens, Bank for International Settlements
    • Professor Itay Goldstein, University of Pennsylvania
    • Professor Robert Engle, New York University
    • Professor Dimitris Papanikolaou, Northwestern University
    • Professor Gordon Phillips, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

    Keynote Addresses

    In addition to the presentations delivered at the International Forum, the conference included keynote addresses by five international eminent academics.

    • “Information in Financial Markets and Its Real Effects”
      Itay Goldstein, University of Pennsylvania
    • “Using Computational Linguistics and Big Data in Finance”
      Gordon Phillips, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
    • “Market Based Finance: Benefits and Risks”
      Stijn Claessens, Bank for International Settlements
    • “A Model of Intangible Capital”
      Dimitris Papanikolaou, Northwestern University
    • “Is Physical Climate Risk Priced? Evidence from Regional Variation in Exposure to Heat Stress”
      Viral Acharya, New York University

    At this conference, over 160 research papers were presented on various topics including the following issues:

    • Global Banking Stability
    • ESG
    • Climate Finance
    • Shadow Banking and Systemic Risk
    • Digital Currencies and Crypto Risk Management Asset Pricing and Derivatives Market
    • Venture Capital
    • Global Financial Stability
    • Interconnectedness and Systemic Risk
    • Corporate Governance,
    • CEO Characteristics
    • Market Microstructure
    • Young and Private Firms
    • Institutional Asset Management 

  • This annual conference is the most significant finance and banking conference in the Asia Pacific region. The conference was sponsored by Australian Stock Exchange, BlackRock, Bureau Van Dijk, PwC, Reserve Bank of Australia, and SIRCA. The AFBC has become the most prestigious finance conference in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a gathering of over 296 delegates from 188 institutions and firms, representing over 32 countries. The world’s foremost leaders of thought from the financial community met and shared their research and interest in finance- related fields. Six categories of prizes were awarded, and a total of 158 papers were presented. See Appendix I for the conference proceedings. The conference also engaged with the finance industry and policy makers by hosting a major international business forum and launching a great International business Forum on Climate Change. The conference additionally offered a PhD Forum on 14 December were seven PhD students from top international business schools presented their work and received comments from eminent scholars.

    In 2021, similar to the previous year, a number of eminent scholars from the US, were its keynote speakers. The following keynotes were given at this conference, over and above a few major international fora with their own distinguished keynote speakers.

    • Toni Whited, University of Michigan
      ‘Relative Performance Evaluation and Strategic Competition’
    • Lubos Pastor, University of Chicago
      ‘Dissecting Green Returns’
    • Philipp Schnabl, New York University
      ‘The Financial Origins of the Rise and Fall of American Inflation’

    At this conference, over 150 research papers were presented on various topics including the following issues:

    • ESG
    • Climate Finance
    • Corporate Finance
    • Corporate Governance,
    • CEO Characteristics Cryptocurrencies
    • Market Microstructure III Young and Private Firms Financial and Decision Making Institutional Asset Management Global Banking
    • Asset Pricing and Derivatives Market Venture Capital 6

    International Forum on Climate Change and Climate Finance

    The Institute of Global Finance, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank organised a major international forum on climate change and climate finance, as part of the Australasian Finance and Banking Conference. The keynotes of this international forum included:

    • William Nordhaus, Yale University (Nobel Laureate in Economics)
    • James Skea, Professor of Sustainable Energy, Imperial College London, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group on Energy, and Chair of Scotland’s Just Transition Commission
    • Bambang Susantono, Vice President, Asian Development Bank John Tomac, Partner at PwC, (ESG and sustainability) Christopher Whitehead, CEO of FINSIA 

  • The 33rd Australasian Finance and Banking Conference (AFBC) was held on 15-17 December 2020, held virtually. The conference was sponsored by Australian Stock Exchange, BlackRock, Bureau Van Dijk, PwC, Reserve Bank of Australia, and SIRCA. The AFBC has become the most prestigious finance conference in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a gathering of over 275 delegates from 165 institutions and firms, representing over 29 countries. The world’s foremost leaders of thought from the financial community met and shared their research and interest in finance- related fields. A total of 150 papers were presented. See Appendix I for the conference proceedings. The conference also engaged with the finance industry and policy makers by hosting a major international business forum and launching a great International business Forum on Climate Change. The conference additionally offered a PhD Forum on 14 December were seven PhD students from top international business schools presented their work and received comments from eminent scholars.

    Keynote speakers included:

    • Professor Luigi Zingales, University of Chicago
    • Professor Allen Berger, University of South Carolina
    • Professor Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, The World Bank
    • Professor Anthony Saunders, New York University
    • Professor Darrell Duffie, Stanford University
    • Professor Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA

    Keynote Addresses

    In addition to the presentations delivered at the International Forum, the conference included keynote addresses by six international eminent academics

    • ‘Socially Responsible Corporate Governance’
      Luigi Zingales, University of Chicago
    • ‘Relationship Banking During the COVID-19 Crisis’
      Allen Berger, University of South Carolina
    • ‘Banks and Covid-19: Banking sector performance during the Covid-19 crisis’
      Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, The World
    • ‘Corporate Loan Spreads and Economic Activity’
      Anthony Saunders, New York University
    • ‘Still the World’s Safe Haven? - Redesigning the U.S. Treasury Market After the COVID-19 Crisis’
      Darrell Duffie, Stanford University
    • ‘Behavioural Finance: Recent Research and Future Challenges’
      Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA