DialogueMagazine

Dialogue Magazine6 The aim of the first panel was to discuss and to show the present situation of the economy and in special the financial sector. As three of the four speakers are earning their money in different types of banks, the only representative of the real economy has been a consultant. All in all that meant, Viren Doshi, Senior Partner at Booz & Company against Prof. Dr. Axel Weber, President of Deutsche Bundesbank, Hugh Sullivan, Country Executive Germany of Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Fred Irwin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany and Chief Operating Officer of Citigroup Global Markets Germany. The Moderator was Bernd Ziesemer, Chief Editor of Handelsblatt and as his Co-Moderator and at the same time the organizer of the first panel, me, Georg Lipnik. Before the panel discussion started, Hugh Sullivan held his keynote speech about investment banking which has played a big role in the course of the crisis. He pointed out that the investment banking industry has to accept that they have made mistakes but that Bank of America Merrill Lynch accepts the need for change to strengthen the financial system. Another important thought he underlined was, to install mechanisms which guarantee that even the largest financial institutions can fail without threatening the overall economic system. So the logical consequence for the Country Executive of Germany is, that it is crucial to mobilize capital and direct it towards areas of the economy where it is most needed. All in all he concluded that Bank of America Merrill Lynch want to be part of a financially healthy world. Consequently, the start of the convention has been very interesting and informative. “The Aftermath of the Crisis – A Newly Structured World” by Georg Lipnik