Risk Magazine 1 - 2012-2013

MagazineFinanciële Studievereniging Groningen

Jaargang 23 - september 2012 1

Banking

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Preface

Daniël Wiersma

however. Cultural and regional influences

have its effect on the way banks operate. As you

can read in this magazine, Islamic banking for

example differs from the banking we are used

to. A country such as Panama knows a very

conservative banking system and is therefore

less sophisticated. Another difference results

from being a state owned bank which is also

addressed in this magazine. I am sure more

examples of differences exist.

Enjoy this edition and good luck during the

academic year!

even themselves. Proof of this is the recent

scandal regarding the manipulation of the

Libor rate. However, the truth of the matter is

that not every bank in existence is involved in

such practices, as some people tend to think.

Generalization is causing even decent bankers

to feel ashamed to answer the question about

what they do for a living. What made it come

to pass that one of the most respectable

professions is now one of the most frowned

upon? It could have something to do with

banking becoming more complex than it used

to be. Early on banking was mainly about

keeping people’s money safe and earning

money by issuing loans. As years went by and

more ways of money making were invented,

this changed. The pinnacle of this change

that, at least in part, caused the financial crisis

were the packages of subprime mortgages.

Banking does differ around the world,

Editor-in-chief 2012-2013

The vacation is over and judging by the

weather the summer will follow suit. I hope

you all enjoyed your free time and I would

like to welcome you back.

It seems these days that the world is facing

an interesting dilemma. Our (global)

economy is relying heavily upon the financial

system of which banks are a large part.

However, in recent years bankers somehow

managed to become seemingly less trusted

by the general public as time goes by. As

we all know this distrust originated mainly

from the beginning of the financial crisis

in 2007. Citizens demanded more rules in

order to be protected from what they viewed

as careless greed. As a result banks are now

faced with more rules. Interestingly enough,

some bankers are not exactly doing a great

job in restoring faith in their institutions or

Risk Magazine 09 – 12 3

“The problems associated with the current

financial situation will be used to explain that

there is little that ABN-Amro can do”

8ABN-Amro as a state-owned bank

6 Financial Headlines

Colofon

Publisher: Risk, Financiële Studievereniging Groningen Editor-in-chief: Daniël Wiersma Editors: Fabrizio CarusoFleur MulderMariska de JongeDaniël SchippersDaniël Wiersma

Final Editor: Mariska de JongeDylan KuiperFleur Mulder Address: Financiële Studievereniging Risk Kamer 5414.0040 Landleven 5 9747 AD Groningen Layout:Daniël Wiersma Design: LS Ontwerpers BNO

Cover:Lieke Pelle

Photography: Henk Veenstra Printing: Zalsman Groningen Circulation: 1.400 copies Subscription The Risk Magazine is published five times a year. The price of a subscription is twelve Euros per year. To get a subscription, please contact Pieter Zandee (050 363 7306). Advertizing If you are interested in advertizing in the Risk Magazine, please contact Pieter Zandee (050 363 7306).

Risk is gelieerd aan deEconomische en BedrijfskundigeFaculteitsvereniging

10 Islamic Banking: A Real Solution to the Current Financial Crisis?

24

16

4

6

8

10

Financial Headlines

Article: ABN-Amro as a state-owned bank

Content

26

27

28

Verenigingsnieuws

24

Preview Multinational Cycle

Article: Islamic Banking: A Real Solution to the Current Financial Crisis?

Preview Accountancy Week

16

Cover Interview with Lieke Pelle

14 Article: Banking “The Panama Way”

Banking “The Panama Way”

Column Wouter Joustra Chairman Risk Board19

Preview Beleggersavonden

Calendar30

22 Cover Interview Lieke Pelle

Column Dra. A. Smeenge RA20

Preview Risk Symposia29

5

nickels using a boatload of trucks.

After this victory in the US, Apple’s confidence

received a new boost and the company intends

to continue suing Samsung in other countries.

One of these countries is the Netherlands,

earlier attempts to sue Samsung here failed.

Additionally, Apple now wishes to add both

the popular Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note to

the list of charges.

Among the things that Samsung copied,

according to the jury, is the way zooming

is done in both tablets and smartphones.

Additionally, the black front and icons used

largely resemble Apple’s patents as well.

And the penalty for copying your competitor?

A whopping 1 billion US dollars. Although this

is a lot of money, it is not as much as Apple

had hoped for, demanding a sum of over 2

billion dollars. Shortly afterwards a hoax

circulated the internet claiming that Samsung

was going to deliver the money in the form of

Financial HeadlinesWritten by: Mariska de Jonge, Fleur Mulder & Daniël

Wiersma

Expensive wedding dress for just

one day?

Why do women spend all their money on a

wedding dress? Many of you have probably

wondered about this question. But do you

have an answer? One reason for women to

spend so much money on their wedding

dress could be that they will only marry once

(although some might marry twice or not at

all)… However, there is only one legitimate

excuse for women to buy an expensive

wedding dress. The reason is that you cannot

rent your wedding dress, since shops where

you can rent wedding dresses are very rare.

Why do these shops not exist? The reason

is that it takes a large amount of surface to

store all those different dresses. Since every

bride has a different taste and a different

size, the dresses will only be rented once

every 4 or 5 years. Furthermore fashion will

change, so a dress that is only worn one time

could become old-fashioned with the risk of

not being rented again. For this reason, the

shop would have to charge a price that is

higher than the purchase price of a new dress.

Apple vs. Samsung

Victory, at least for Apple. After a very long

period of mutual suing, regarding alleged

patent breaches, a jury in the American city

of San José declared that Samsung did indeed

applied technology belonging to Apple.

6 Risk Magazine 09 – 12

The significance of the Libor rate is the fact

that many financial institutions and products

are based on it, examples are mortgages and

credit card companies. An estimate $350

trillion in derivatives and other financial

products are tied to the Libor rate. One can

image the economic difference it can make to

deliberately alter the rate…

quarter. That could help to cushion the U.S.

economy from other risks in the final months

of the year. J.P. Morgan’s equity analysts

expect Apple to sell about 8 million iPhone 5

units in the final three months of the year. If

the phone sells for around $600, with about

$200 of it counted as imported components,

then $400 per phone would figure into the

a panel of major banks comprised of a single

question, “At what rate could you borrow

funds, were you to do so by asking for and then

accepting inter-bank offers in a reasonable

market size just prior to 11 am?” The highest

and lowest four answer are then thrown away

and the average of the remaining answer is

the Libor rate for the day.

The release of the iPhone 5:

Dialing up growth

The iPhone 5, which Apple Inc. plans to

release by the 12th of September could get

credit for something Congress, the White

House and Federal Reserve have struggled to

do: boost the U.S. economy in a measurable

way. Sales of the new iPhone could add

between a quarter and half a percentage point

to annualized economic growth in the fourth

Libor

In recent months several banks were accused

of manipulating the so called Libor interest

rate. But what exactly is this Libor and why

does it matter that banks have tampered with

it?

Libor stands for the London Interbank

Offered Rate and officially commenced on

the first of January 1986. The rate itself is the

average interest rate estimated by top banks

in London that they would charge should

they lend to other banks. Together with the

Euribor it is the primary benchmark for short

term interest rates worldwide.

The rates are calculated for ten different

currencies and 15 borrowing periods (from

one day to one year). It is calculated in

the following way. The British Bankers’

Association (BBA) has a daily survey among

government’s measure of gross domestic

product. The bottom line: The new iPhone

sales could boost GDP by $3.2 billion in the

fourth quarter, or $12.8 billion at an annual

rate. That is an increase of 0.33 percentage

point in the annualized rate of GDP growth.


ABN AMRO as

Written by: Daniël Schippers

Almost four years ago, while the ING bank received a federal loan, the other

Dutch mega-bank ABN AMRO was fully purchased by the state. Wouter

Bos, the man responsible for this bold rescue plan of the Dutch economy,

has been succeeded by Diederik Samsom who expressed the wish to let the

Dutch government keep a majority shareholder position.

On the 23rd of August, former ABN-amro CEO

Rijkman Groenink responded in an interview

that the government should make use of this

position by forcing the bank to extent more

credit and loans to small and medium sized

businesses. This article will provide a short

comment on this remark made by Rijkman

Groenink. The problems associated with the

current financial situation will be used to

explain that there is little that ABN AMRO

can do, even with pressure from their largest

shareholder: the government.

The context of Groeninks remark is the fact

that because of the financial and debt crisis,

banks are very reluctant to extend loans

and credit to businesses and households.

This situation has persisted since the fall

of Lehman Brothers and is unlikely to clear

in the near future. Groenink stated that the

government should try and break this status-

quo.

This advice seems reasonable, but is on

closer scrutiny a little too vague. What does

Groenink mean with “to extend more credit”?

More credit than what? More credit to who?

And under what conditions should ABN

AMRO extent such loans?

The problem faced by banks at the moment

is, that they are afraid that the economic

conditions might worsen in the future. If

the firms to whom credit is extended see

their profits evaporate, when Greece goes

bankrupt for instance, banks can say goodbye

to their money. This fear might be irrational

in some cases and grounded on valid reasons

in others. The problem with extending more

credit than ABN AMRO does right now is the

risk of extending “bad credit” under pressure

from the government. This sounds awfully

familiar to the situation in the US prior to

the financial crisis in which Fannie Mae and

Freddy Mac extended gratuitous amounts of

mortgages.

In reality, the government is merely a

shareholder and the screening of potential

clients is still in the hands of the same

people who currently think it is unwise

to extend credit to many businesses that

would receive loans under more favorable

economic circumstances. If they don’t find

it responsible to extend credit, what makes

“The problem faced by banks at

the moment, is that they are afraid

that the economic conditions might

worsen in the future.”


“The problems associated with the current financial situation will be used

to explain that there is little that ABN-Amro can do”

someone else think it is? What people should

not forget is that the bank is in the hands of

the government. Why am I repeating that?

Because this means that any losses made by

the bank are ultimately paid for by the public.

Considering the public outrage at bankers in

general over the course of the last few years,

people would probably not tolerate more

losses generated by the same banks.

Obviously this does not mean that the ABN

government promises to pay back the loan

in case the company has trouble paying its

obligations.

So all in all, it would be nice if banks were just

a little bit more generous with their provision

of credit and loans to companies, but having

the government force ABN AMRO to extend

credit unwisely would be, well, unwise.

AMRO bank (and other banks for that matter)

should be so uptight with extending loans as

they currently are. And hopefully Rijkman

Groenink simply means that the banks should

be just a little bit more generous. However,

if the government wants to stimulate

investment by businesses so badly, they

could simply give a direct loan guarantee. The

terms of the loan such as collateral, maturity

and the interest rate are the same as without

the government guarantee, but instead the

a state-owned bank.


Written by: Fabrizio Caruso

Islamic Banking:

At present, with over 600 Islamic financial

institutions in the world and assets estimated

at over $ 2 trillion, the Islamic financial

market has recently turned to be in the

spotlight as an alternative way of doing

banking in a more efficient way. During the

crisis, in contrast to conventional banks,

no Islamic bank has failed or has needed

government recapitalization.

Recently the widely read Arabic newspaper

Asharq Al Awsat has written: “Islamic banks

are untouched by the current crisis due to the

nature of Islamic banking especially that it

does not deal in debt trading and distantiates

itself from market speculation that takes

place in European and American banks.” And

there are many practitioners stating that the

Islamic banking system should be regarded as

a way of doing finance which could help the

world get out of the current crisis. To which

extent is it really true?

First of all, what is Islamic banking and

how does it differentiate from conventional

banking? Islamic banking represents a

system of financial activities consistent with

the Sharia, the moral code and religious law

of the Islam. Its purpose is to foster economic

and social well-being based on justice.

Amongst the governing principles of Islamic

banks, which differentiate themselves from

Western ones, are the following principles:

No interest rate is charged (‘riba’ or interest

is absolutely prohibited) There is a specific

religious reason why Islamic banks are barred

from accepting specific interest for loans

of money: the interest rate represents time

value of money and since time is outside of

the human control, nobody is allowed to exert

any power on it by attaching and charging a

monetary price to something that belongs

only to God, otherwise that would be seen as

blasphemy.

So how does an Islamic bank make a profit

out of a loan if interest cannot be applied? By

directly participation in profit and loss. Bank

and borrower would share the risk together

along with the profit or loss deriving from the

activity. The gain for the bank would be given

by a percentage applied to the difference

between the value of the investment at the

end of the period and the initial capital outlay

which was lent.

As a matter of fact, Islamic banks act as

investment partners for those who need

money to do business, becoming part owners

of the business with profits and losses shared

in proportion to ownership. This would entail

that the banker should carefully analyze the

feasibility and goodness of the borrower’s

plan in order not to incur any loss. In case

of losses the banker would lose the money

he had given and ultimately only the bank

would suffer the loss. This unconventional

way of doing business is rooted in the fact

that Islamic Sharia does not allow making

money from money which would lead to

greed rather than promote risk sharing and

entrepreneurship. On the other side no

interest rate is applied on savings deposits

either since they are remunerated following

an equity-like nature as well.

Asset-backing contracts: financing is

primarily done with physical assets backing it.

While in conventional banking lending can

be done without a physical asset backing the

Islamic banking is one of the fastest growing segments of the global financial

industry. Over the last years, it has become systematically important in some

countries and, in many others, it is too big to be ignored.


loan, Islamic finance requires that financial

dealings must have a real asset underlying

them. For example, an Islamic bank will only

invest in business plans backed by actual

assets, such as machinery, automobiles or a

business, so the transaction is always tied to a

real asset or service.

Islamic bonds: conventional securities are not

allowed since they are interest-bearing and as

Sharia considers money to be a measuring

tool for value and not an asset in itself. It

requires that one should not receive income

from money alone. This generation of money

from money (simplistically, interest) is “riba”,

and is forbidden. Sukuk is the Arabic name

for financial securities and it represents

partial ownership in a debt, asset, project

or investment where the gain is directly

linked to the performance of the underlying

investment.

A different mortgage method: in an Islamic

mortgage transaction, instead of loaning the

buyer money to purchase the item, a bank

might buy the item itself from the seller, and

re-sell it to the buyer at a profit, while allowing

the buyer to pay the bank in installments. It

is very similar to our conception of leasing

where the lessor is the bank and the lessee is

the borrower.

Risk-minimizing transactions: while major

violations of risk management principles

systematically have happened in conventional

banks before and during the crisis. The

Islamic system aims to minimize the risk by

avoiding making transactions which carry a

high degree of uncertainty. The underlying

reason is that risky transactions are seen as

a gamble, and gambling is strictly forbidden

by Sharia laws. That’s why Islamic banks do

not trade derivatives or other speculative

instruments, which have been at the core of

the crisis, since the outcome associated with

them is regarded as absolutely uncertain.

Having analyzed the main features of Islamic

finance which elements of this alternative

way of doing banking could be helpful in the

sequel to exit from the crisis or better to avoid

any other one in the future?

“Islamic finance requires that financial dealings must

have a real asset underlying them.”

A Real Solution to the Current Financial Crisis?


First of all, let’s analyze the issue of risk-

sharing. If commercial banks were required

to share the profits and losses of their

clients, whether in business investments or

mortgages, they would be much more careful

when choosing which deals to finance. This is

because their financial returns would depend

on the performance of the projects. Also, the

equity-like nature of savings instruments may

increase depositors’ incentives to monitor

and discipline banks and that would be an

important reason for banks not to incur in

speculative high-risk activities as happened

during the financial crisis.

While conventional banks generally have

to pay pre-determined rate of interest on

deposits, independently on the state of the

economics, Islamic banks enjoy a built-in

stabilizer which helps them face economic

turmoil easier as instead of paying interest to

depositors, those with a saving account share

the banks profits. So investors would receive a

lower or higher interest rate according to the

state of the banks. The profit sharing policy

definitely reduces risks for banks compared

to fixed rate of interest return on investment.

Islamic housing finance involves risk sharing

between the bank and the borrower, rather

than transferring all the risk to the latter.

This policy, if it had been applied by all

banks, would have reduced the burden of the

defaults borne by the public economy and so

by people.

avoid future crises in the future.

These are the main technical points our banks

could borrow from the Islamic ones if they

aim to improve the global financial system.

But, the main Islamic banking teaching stays

the following: financial system should not

be guided by greed and self-aggrandizement

but it must promote a more social equitable

and just status in the society. Values like

honesty, integrity, co-operation are the

pillars of the Islamic finance and they are

fully respected by Islamic bankers, while we

cannot say it is the same for Western banks.

Global finance should go back to the origin

and operate according to more stringent

moral laws in order to avoid any type of crisis,

because the current one is mainly “a crisis of

moral values”.

“Islamic housing finance involves

risk sharing between the bank

and the borrower, rather than

transferring all the risk to the

latter.”

Using derivatives is right when it comes for

hedging purposes but when it is done for

speculative reasons it can be damaging and

ultimately fuel a crisis, like the current one. If

risk-minimizing transactions were adopted,

as suggested by Islamic finance, we could


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Mazars is ontstaan uit een fusie tussen Mazars en Paardekooper&Hoffman

Ga verder met Mazars.

0475.00.596 WT Rules BS_210x297_FC.indd 1 21-08-2008 11:13:06

So how do they differ from the rest of

the world? First of all, compared to most

countries, Panama’s banking system is

extremely conservative, taking little to no

risks. This is due to the fact that the country

knows no central banking system like the

rest of us does, which is, at least in part,

a result of Panama’s dollarized economy.

Having no currency of their own, there is

Panama’s banking system has long been seen

as a shady one. In the view of most, people

would go to Panama to avoid taxes in their

own country by making use of Panama’s

banking secrecy. The second common opinion

was that of a country where large scale money

laundering occurs. This was made possible

through various ways. Firstly, there is the law

that penalizes any bank or banker that reveals

any information regarding their clients.

Secondly, a construction known as Bearer

Shares made tracing money neigh impossible.

This construction is set up in the following

way. A person or a company that wishes to

remain anonymous can contact a lawyer in

Panama to set up a company comprised of

Bearer Shares. These shares have no listing

whatsoever of who owns them. Additionally,

after they had been sold for the first time,

not even the lawyer that first helped to set

it up knows who the owners are. The next

step would be to open up a bank account on

this company’s name. Given the fact that no

one knows who the owner of the company

is, the result derived from this action is that

the owner of the account, and therefore the

money, is unknown as well.

As of recent years, however, the above way

of doing business has gradually disappeared.

Panama’s intention of becoming more

involved in world trade, mainly with the US,

has forced them into a more transparent

way of banking and doing business. In

order to get off the OECD’s black and gray

list Panama signed various tax treaties with

other countries. Furthermore, they also

started moving away from their Bearer Share

system and banking secrecy. Nowadays no

new Bearer Share companies can be founded

and hardly any bank is willing anymore to

open an account to one. In addition, when

Across the globe we can find countries with financial institutions such as banks, pension

funds, insurance companies etc. As these institutions are generally vital for a country’s

economy, strict rules and regulations exist. While most regions do not differ a lot from

others, differences do exist. One such country that has its own approach is Panama.

provided with a court order, information

about an individual will be given. Therefore,

banking is moving from secrecy to, what

Panamanian bankers call, confidentiality. It

is also rumored that the Bearer Share system

will be frozen entirely in the upcoming year.

Banking“The Panama Way”

Written by: Daniël Wiersma

“Nowadays no new Bearer Share

companies can be founded and

hardly any bank is willing anymore

to open an account to one.”


required) respectively and think twice about

taking unnecessary risks. One example is the

extreme building rate of real estate in Panama

City. One would think that this imposes a

huge risk for banks, however, reality shows

us that this is not the case. When asked about

this directly bankers stated that they would

only lend up to a maximum of 60% of the

required amount and they would only do so

when a minimum amount of the new project

had been sold beforehand. Nonetheless,

banks are not the only ones taking action

because of this system. The superintendent

itself is very thorough in keeping an eye on its

country’s banks and is known to be very strict.

no need for a central bank to print money

or issue a monetary policy. Replacing the

supervisory role over the country’s banking

system is the ‘Superintendencia de Bancos

de Panama’. This superintendent knows

no failsafe mechanisms such as last resort

loans or deposit insurances. Essentially, this

means that should a bank go bankrupt, it

will not be saved and people who have any

money stored in this bank are in bad luck.

Apart from a maximum of US$ 10,000 each,

gained from selling the bank’s assets, they

will not receive anything. As a result, banks

have an average liquidity and capital ratio

of 65% and 15,1% (where 30% and 8% are

As a result, it hardly ever comes to pass that a

bank is nearing bankruptcy, despite the crises

of the last years.

Secondly, Panama’s banking system is made

up of different types of licenses. Each type of

license allows for different types of business

to be conducted.

The first license is the broadest of the three

available licenses. The General License allows

the licensee to engage in the banking business

within the Republic of Panama, as well as

to carry out transactions that are perfected,

consummated or have their desired effect

outside the territory of Panama and to carry

out whatever other activities that may be

authorized by the Superintendencia de Bancos

de Panama. Banks with a General License can

transfer deposits between themselves freely

and can accept deposits from banks with an

international license.

The second license is the International

License, this license allow the banks to engage,

from an office established within Panama, in

transactions that are perfected, consummated

or have their desired effect outside the

territory of Panama and carry out whatever

other activities that may be authorized by the

“This superintendent knows no failsafe mechanisms such as

last resort loans or deposit insurances.”


other activities that may be authorized by

the Superintendencia de Bancos de Panama.

The banks must have the permission of the

banking authorities from their home country.

The license gives banks the right to have

contact with their customers everywhere.

However, the banks are not allowed to do

the banking business itself. Once the license

is issued, the bank is allowed to engage in

representation activities through a branch or

a wholly owned subsidiary.

As the differences have become clear

interesting questions arise. Should the

Panamanian way of banking and regulating

be adapted in the rest of the world? Could this

be a way to prevent banks from taking risks

and cause us to plummet into a recession?

Superintendencia de Bancos de Panama. This

license allows for offshore banking and only

enables the bank to conduct its activities with

offshore entities although the bank itself is in

Panama. Banks with an International License

are not paying Panamanian taxes and are not

subject to liquidity ratios and legal reserves

requirements. The main difference with a

General License is that they are not restricted

in doing business, except for doing business

with Panamanian Corporations, Panamanian

Foundations and Panamanian residents or

citizens.

The final license is the Representation

License. The Representation License allows

foreign banks to establish a representation

office in Panama and carry out whatever

This might be tough to answer. Although it

appears to be a nice way of keeping your banks

stable, it also generates less wealth. Compare

the balance sheets of large Panamanian banks

with a large American or European bank and

this quickly becomes clear.

Information presented in this article is a

result of research and interviews conducted

in Panama by Aniek Nijhuis and Daniël

Wiersma on behalf of the Dutch Embassy in

Panama City during the Risk International

Financial Program 2011-2012.


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Column

Wouter Joustra

We should be able to rely on the fact that

people should behave ethically and morally.

In an ideal world this might be reality, but

none of us live there. There will always be a

rogue element in society that will break laws.

Banking is no different. Banks are gladiatorial

in the way that they transact their business.

They are gladiatorial both internally as

employees compete for attention and glory,

and equally gladiatorial in the marketplace

where for every winner there is a loser.

Arrogance, conflicts of interest, greed,

unethical behavior, lack of transparency,

failed leadership, and no accountability are

the exact opposites of a model for sustainable

business success. Companies on Wall Street

have a higher burden of proof in the business

of restoring trust. It gets to the heart of what a

company really stands for. For example when

addressing business strategy; will ethical

liability be put on the table for discussion

along with legal liability?

Bankers must now recommit to serving as

The words banking, ethics and morality are

rarely found in the same sentence. There is

no doubt that the last two words can often

be used in conjunction but add in the first

and it pretty much excludes any practical

application.

Recent economic events have reduced the

confidence that individuals, families and

businesses once had in the banking industry.

The culture at banks has once more been

called into question.

Some say that the banking culture is corrupt;

huge numbers of IT professionals and lawyers

are employed to bend the rules as far as they

can without breaking the law. Everyone

is encouraged to compete, there is a huge

pressure to succeed and an overpowering

fear of failure. Everyone is competing for

the same business, the profuse parties will

continue and the rest will continue to wonder

how the system can continue to resist change

as long as it does. What chance do ethics and

morality have?

Chairman Risk Board 2012-2013

involved and ethical financial advisors. To

help clients and communities achieve their

financial goals, bankers must have strong

character based on integrity and honesty.

Such character leads them to routinely make

the right decisions and provide financial

advice in the best interest of others.

It is a slow process to change a culture. It

will depend on whether companies consider

sustainable business success worth the effort.

But is changing company culture enough to

change an industry? Or should we start in a

different place?

Should “Business Ethics” and “Responsible

Finance and Investing” (currently both

elective courses) need to become compulsory

courses for the Master Finance students at

the RUG?

Banking, an industry out of control or an ethical profession?


3), waarbij wij de meeste aandacht zullen

besteden aan Duisenberg , die na zijn opleiding

in het middelbaar onderwijs in Heerenveen

economie heeft gestudeerd aan de Faculteit

der Economische Wetenschappen van de

Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen.

Paragraaf 1. Jelle Zijlstra.

Zijlstra is hoogleraar geweest in de algemene

economie aan de Vrije Universiteit te

Amsterdam. Hij was lid van de Anti-

Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) en heeft als

President van de Nederlandse Bank een rol

van eminente betekenis gehad. Gekscherend

kunnen we stellen dat hij ook onderwerp was

van een Oudejaasconference van Wim Kan

die een lied bracht onder de veelzeggende

titel: “Waar we heengaan, Jelle zal wel zien,

die weet het wel misschien”.

Zijlstra kan worden getypeerd als een

Dra. A. Smeenge RA

Column

Volgens artikel 1 van de Bankwet 1948 is de

voornaamste taak van De Nederlandsche

Bank (hierna aangeduid met DNB) het zoveel

mogelijk stabiliseren van de waarde van de

gulden We kunnen ons afvragen in hoeverre

de overgang naar de Euro hier inbreuk op

heeft gemaakt. Naar de opvatting van de

schrijver van dit artikel hebben wij de gulden

ongeveer 10% te goedkoop omgeruild tegen

de Euro, waarvan wij ons terdege bewust

dienen te zijn.

In dit artikel zal ik aandacht besteden aan

enkele personen die in hun functie als

President van de Nederlandse Bank grote,

om niet te zeggen een prominente, rol hebben

vervuld.

Achtereenvolgens besteden wij aandacht aan

Jelle Zijlstra (paragraaf 1), Wim Duisenberg

(paragraaf 2) en Nout Wellink (paragraaf

eminente algemeen economist met zeer

uitzonderlijke expertise op het vakgebied

monetaire economie. Hij speelde een zeer

vooraanstaande rol binnen de ARP (parade

der mannenbroeders, en de Vrije Universiteit

in navolging van Abraham Kuyper getypeerd

als Üniversiteit der kleine Luyden”.

Paragraaf 2. Wim Duisenberg.

Na zijn doctoraal examen met als hoofdvak

Algemene Economie werd Duisenberg

wetenschappelijk medewerker in de

vakgroep Monetaire Economie, die onder

leiding stond van Prof. Dr. F.J. de Jong.

Genoemde De Jong is vooral bekend

geworden door het standaardwerk “De

Werking van een Volkshuishouding” deel

1 en 2 en door een dubbelnummer van het

tijdschrift “De Economist”, uitgegeven door

uitgeversmaatschappij De Erven F. Bohn te

Haarlem, getiteld “Dimensieanalyse in de

Enige beschouwingen over het bankwezen


Paragraaf 4. Enige toekomstverken-

ningen.

In verband met de ernstige financiële crisis

in Europa, en de discussies over het al dan

niet continueren van de Euro, respectievelijk

of het merendeel van de Eurolanden

steun moet blijven geven aan landen als

Griekenland, Spanje, Portugal en Italië

behoeft het geen toelichting, dat het Europa

van de gemeenschap zich in een moeilijke

periode bevindt. Hopelijk zullen de landen

in de Europese gemeenschap er in slagen de

problemen slagvaardig en deskundig aan te

pakken.

Over de auteur:

Drs. A. Smeenge RA was vanaf 1 september

1987 tot aan 1 september 2007 als

universitair docent verbonden aan de

Faculteit Bedrijfskunde en vervolgens vanaf

1 september 2007 tot aan zijn pensioen per

1 september 2009 als universitair docent

aan de gefuseerde Faculeit der Economie

en Bedrijfskunde (of Faculty of Economics

and Business) aan de Rijksuniversiteit

Groningen.

Economie”. Voorts stond hij bekend als een

uitmuntend didacticus.

Duisenberg was zoals genoemd

wetenschappelijk medewerker onder

hoogleraar F.J. de Jong, promoveerde op

een proefschrift over Economische gevolgen

van ontwapening. Daarna ging het snel

met zijn maatschappelijke ontwikkeling en

politieke carrière, blijkend uit resp. zijn

functie als hoogleraar aan de Universiteit

van Amsterdam en zijn optreden als zeer

jonge Minister van Financien” in het kabinet-

Den Uyl. Vervolgens fungeerde hij als vice-

president van de Rabobank. Hierna werd

Duisenberg Presisent van de Nederlandsche

Bank, en vervolgens als klapstuk op zijn

bancaire carrière President van de Europese

Centrale Bank, kantoor-houdend te Frankfurt.

Bij het 25-jarig bestaan van de Faculteit

der Economische Wetenschappen der

Rijkuniversiteit Groningen in 1973 was

Duisenberg een prominente gast en spreker.

Hij betoogde toen o.a. dat “much has

happened to the Faculty, and much has

happened to me”. In het Duisenberg gebouw

is ruim voldoende informatie beschikbaar ten

adstructie van de betekenis van Duisenberg,

zowel in nationaal als in internationaal

opzicht, en zowel als beoefenaar der

wetenschap en als bankier.

Paragraaf 3. Nout Wellink.

Het zal geen verbazing wekken dat ook

Wellink economie gestudeerd heeft met als

specialisatie monetaire economie. De laatste

paar jaren van zijn fungeren als President

van de Nederlandsche Bank heeft hij aan

kritiek blootgestaan, met name omtrent

het tekortschieten van het toezicht op de

banken, en wel in het bijzonder op het veel te

laat ingrijpen bij de DSB-bank (Scheringa),

hetgeen tot gevolg had dat genoemde bank

eindigde in haar bestaan.

Volgens voorschriften van DNB moet iedere

bank maandelijks een aantal staten inleveren

bij DNB; als het controle-apparaat van DNB

adequaat haar taak had uitgeoefend was

men er zeer snel achtergekonmen dat er bij

DSB-bank zaken totaal uit de hand liepen.

In een lezing door (hoe kan het ook anders)

de directeur van SOBI (Stichting Onderzoek

BedrijfsInformatie), de econometrist Dr.

Pieter Tijmen Lakeman werd uitgelegd, dat de

Nederlandse Bank in haar toezichthoudende

functie ten aanzien van DSB ernstig is

tekortgeschoten.

“Naar de opvatting van de schrijver van dit artikel hebben wij

de gulden ongeveer 10% te goedkoop omgeruild tegen de Euro”


During my first year I became acquainted

with Risk. A year later some fellow students

of mine organized the Accountancy Week and

I decided to participate. I enjoyed this week so

much that I wanted to organize it myself and

this is how I got involved with committees.

During my time in these committees I

especially learned a lot about working with

others. It is up to the group to put down

an event as good as possible. Contact with

different companies taught me how to

approach them in the first place and how to

remain in contact with them. Additionally,

during the IFP I was able to learn a lot about

conducting research and doing interviews. All

these experiences are sure to prove useful in

the future!

Why did you decide to study

Accountancy and what did you

learn so far?

Accountancy has always interested me.

currently a fifth year student in Groningen.

Last year I followed the courses of the

master Accountancy and this year I would

like to participate in the courses of the

Controlling specialization. I hope to finish

both specializations with a combined thesis

in February.

What did you do within Risk?

I did several committees within Risk, the

first being the Accountancy Tour committee

in 2011. After finishing this committee I

wanted to do another one and applied for

the Accountancy Week committee. During

this project the Risk International Financial

Program came to my attention and I decided

to participate in the IFP as a member/

researcher.

Why did you decide to become

active at Risk and what did you

learn?

The first magazine of this year has Lieke Pelle adorning the cover. Lieke

is a fifth year Accountancy and Controlling student and has done several

comittees within Risk.

CoverinterviewLieke Pelle

Lieke, could you briefly introduce

yourself?

My name is Lieke Pelle, I’m 22 years old and


Coverinterview

has to be taken to a higher level. The only

way to restore internal trust between banks

in Europe, is to give every bank the same

requirements. Let’s hope that European

supervision does not take too long to organize.

What advice would you like to

give your successor?

Don’t wait to make things concrete or to

execute it, this will save you a lot of stress at

the end. It goes without saying that you need

to enjoy it, a committee is a lot of fun to do!

What is your vision on banks and

banking?

Banks and banking is not a subject that I’m

really connected to, however, I do hear a lot

about it on the news. Currently there are a

lot of things going on with regards to banks.

There is no internal trust and a lot of banks

are in trouble. To what extent are countries

and banks able and should they take care of

their own problems? I am very curious which

banks will still be around in a few years and

how these banks are doing.

What do you expect for the

future? Does anything need to be

changed?

It is clear that something has to be done in

order to prevent banks from going even

further towards a dead end. The idea of

European supervision on banks, a banking

union, is a good one in my opinion. Should

national supervision prove insufficient, it

Regardless, during my first year I decided to

follow a study in Economics in order to have

a broader range of choices. Every year Risk

organizes the event ‘Eén Dag Accountant

en Controller’ (One Day Accountant and

Controller), where you get to taste the

Accountancy and Controlling profession.

After participating in this day it became clear

to me that I wanted to study Accountancy.

Up until now I can honestly say that this

has been a good choice. The courses are very

interesting, especially in the Master phase

where all of the courses of the Bachelor phase

come together.

What will you do when you

graduate?

In February I aim to do a thesis internship.

Once I’m graduated I hope to get a job in

September and start with my post-master.

I would like to work a few years within the

accountancy profession.


Geen Barcelona.Geen Madrid.

Geen New York. Wel aan

de top geweest.

EY Xperience. De beste business course. Gewoon in Nederland.

© 2

012:

Ern

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You

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land

LLP

. All

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Een echte, intensieve kennismaking. Met onze professionals. Met onze klanten. En met onze manier van werken. Schrijf je nu in voor de EY Xperience Accountancy en Advisory 2012. Van 14 t/m 17 november. Kijk op ey.nl/EYXperience.

-0017_210x297mm_adv_EY Xperiance.indd 1 10-09-12 14:59

Verenigingsnieuws

Finance Event 2012

Geen Barcelona.Geen Madrid.

Geen New York. Wel aan

de top geweest.

EY Xperience. De beste business course. Gewoon in Nederland.

© 2

012:

Ern

st &

You

ng N

eder

land

LLP

. All

Rig

hts

Res

erve

d.

Een echte, intensieve kennismaking. Met onze professionals. Met onze klanten. En met onze manier van werken. Schrijf je nu in voor de EY Xperience Accountancy en Advisory 2012. Van 14 t/m 17 november. Kijk op ey.nl/EYXperience.

-0017_210x297mm_adv_EY Xperiance.indd 1 10-09-12 14:59

Risk Magazine 09 – 12 25Verenigingsnieuws

Preview

Beleggersavonden“Beleggen in stormachtige tijden”

2011 was een bewogen beursjaar. Het jaar

wat begon met veel optimisme over het

groeipotentieel van de markten.Uiteindelijk

draaide het echter uit op een AEX die in

zeven maanden 100 punten daalde, onder

meer als gevolg van onzekerheden over

de Zuid-Europese landen. Het is duidelijk

geworden dat staatsobligaties niet meer

kunnen worden gezien als risk-free. Aan het

eind van 2011 was de rust enigszins weer

teruggekeerd. Het EFSF is vormgegeven, de

AEX stond weer boven de 300 punten. Het

jaar 2012 begon met een optimistische trend.

Facebook kondigde zijn beursgang aan, dit

werd hiermee de twee na grootste beursgang

ooit. Er kwamen strengere regels voor het

begrotingsbeleid. We zijn nu halverwege het

jaar en het optimisme ebt weg, de koersen

dalen, de gehoopte economische groei blijft

uit en de beursgang van Facebook draaide uit

op een fiasco. De onzekerheid is weer terug.

Tijdens de vijf Risk Beleggersavonden

van dit jaar komen sprekers hun kennis

delen en hun visie geven op de meest

uiteenlopende onderwerpen. Door sprekers

met verschillende perspectieven en

kennisgebieden uit te nodigen proberen wij

de studenten een zo breed mogelijk beeld

te geven van beleggen.Ook dit jaar zullen

de avonden worden afgesloten met een

gezellige borrel. Dit is de gelegenheid om

met je medestudenten en sprekers verder te

discussiëren over jouw visie en de besproken

onderwerpen.

De Risk Beleggersavonden zullen aftrappen

op maandag 8 oktober om 19:30 met als

spreker Joost van Kuppenveld, Eindredacteur

bij Beleggen.nl. De tweede Beleggersavond

van het jaar zal plaatsvinden op maandag 29

oktober om 19.30 in het Heerenhuis met als

spreker Cor Wijtvliet, Expert Author bij Crash

Investor.

26 Risk Magazine 09– 12Verenigingsnieuws

carrière mogelijkheden. Dus geef je snel

op via www.riskaccountancyweek.nl. Heb

je jezelf opgegeven, houd dan ook alvast

donderdagavond 27 september vrij voor een

gezellige kennismakingsactiviteit.

Wij hebben er erg veel zin in, en hopen

kennis met je te maken tijdens deze mooie

activiteiten!

De Accountancy Week Commissie

Accountancy Week

Dit jaar zal de Risk Accountancy Week

plaatsvinden van maandag 1 oktober tot en

met woensdag 3 oktober. Samen met een groep

van 25 Accountancy & Controlling studenten

zullen we op zondag 30 september vertrekken

naar de Randstad waar we zullen verblijven

in het Rho Hotel. In Amsterdam aangekomen

zullen we een bezoek brengen aan de

volgende bedrijven: Deloitte, KPMG, PwC,

Ernst & Young, Mazars en De Nederlandsche

Bank. Door middel van een case, die door

de bedrijven worden voorgelegd, of op een

andere interactieve wijze zullen de studenten

kennis maken met de kantoren. De cases

zijn dit jaar met de deelnemende bedrijven

afgestemd. Dit betekent dat er dit jaar meer

diversiteit in de cases zit en dat de cases stof

behandelen uit de master. Uiteraard wel op

een toegankelijke manier. Daarnaast is er

ook volop gelegenheid om de deelnemende

bedrijven op een informele wijze te leren

kennen.

Kortom, de Accountancy Week biedt

een uitstekende kans om contacten op te

doen voor eventuele afstudeerstages en

Preview


Preview

Multinational Cycle

Ook dit jaar zal de Multinational Cycle met

een groep van 25 studenten afreizen naar

de Randstad om daar bedrijfsbezoeken af

te leggen. Dit jaar zal Den Haag worden

aangedaan op 8, 9 en 10 oktober. De groep zal

drie nachten lang geheel verzorgd in een hotel

in de Randstad verblijven om van daaruit

elke dag kennis te maken met verschillende

multinationals. Dit jaar zullen KPN, PostNL,

Achmea, Philips en Ahold worden bezocht.

Elk bedrijf krijgt een dagdeel de kans om

zich aan de deelnemers te presenteren.

Tijdens de bezoeken krijgen de studenten

de mogelijkheid om op zowel formele als

informele wijze kennis te maken met de

deelnemende bedrijven.

Het doel van de OMC is om de enthousiaste

groep studenten kennis te laten maken met de

praktijk door middel van bijvoorbeeld cases,

die van financiële aard zijn. De cases zullen

uitgewerkt en / of gepresenteerd worden in

groepen. Daarnaast is er gelegenheid het

kantoor eens van de binnenkant te bekijken.

Hierdoor krijgen de studenten een beter

inzicht in het reilen en zeilen binnen een

bedrijf.

Om de studenten ook op een andere manier

te leren kennen, zullen de deelnemende

bedrijven ons ook deze keer weer

verschillende lunches, diners en borrels

aanbieden. Kortom, de Risk Multinational

Cycle is de ideale manier om een kijkje achter

de schermen te nemen bij de deelnemende

bedrijven en de sfeer te proeven.

Schrijf je dan ook vóór 1 oktober in, want het

aantal plaatsen is beperkt!


In the 4th week of the academic year the first

Career Week of the RuG will take place. In this

Career Week Risk organises three symposia

which will all take place at Zernike at Tuesday

September 25. The following three symposia

will take place:

1. Finance & IFM Symposium

2. Accountancy, Controlling & Fiscal

Economics (ACFE) Symposium

3. O&MC Symposium

Finance & IFM Symposium

As an ambitious student, you might wonder

what the future holds after your graduation.

The Risk Finance and IFM Symposium

2012 will give you the opportunity to gain

insights on how you can practice your gained

knowledge and expertise in the future by

meeting professionals from diverse fields

within the finance and IFM area. The theme

this year’s symposium is aligned with the

course ‘Research Methods in Finance’.

Moreover, participating in the Risk Finance

and IFM Symposium gives you the ability to

show your potential at one of the interactive

workshops and the informal social after the

event.

ACFE Symposium

The ACFE Symposium will take place on

September 25, 2012. The symposium aims

to enable the student to come in contact with

a topical issue that affects the profession of

accountant, controller or fiscal economist.

In addition, this symposium offers students

the opportunity to orient themselves in the

labor market during the afternoon through

workshops with potential employers. The

ACFE Symposium is open to all bachelor

and master students Accountancy and

/ or Controlling and also for the master

fiscal economics students. The theme of

the symposium is Risk Management; The

relation between accountant, controller and

fiscal advisor

O&MC Symposium

The Organizational & Management Control

(O&MC) Symposium will be held on Tuesday

the 25th of September. This Symposium

aims to provide students with a better

understanding about the possibilities in

business life once they are graduated with

a degree in Organizational & Management

Control. The O&MC Symposium is open for

Master students in O&MC only.

The symposia will end with a network /

alumni drink where everyone of the faculty

will be present. For more information, see

www.verenigingrisk.nl.

Preview

Risk Symposia


AgendaCalendar

September 2012

25 Finance & IFM Symposium

O&MC Symposium

ACFE Symposium

Risk Accountancy Dinner

October 2012

1-3 Accountancy Week

4 Finance Society Social

8 Risk Investor Evening 1

8-10 Risk Multinational Cycle

15 Risk Investment Team

15 Active Members Presentation

18 IFM Society Social

22 Risk semi-annual general meeting

29 Risk Investor Evening 2


© 2012 KPMG N.V., alle rechten voorbehouden.

21 T/M 25 NOVEMBER 2012. SCHRIJF JE IN VÓÓR 1 OKTOBER OP WWW.GAAAN.NU/120UURMADRID

120 UUR MADRID: DE KPMG MADRID BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

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www.werkenbĳ pwc.nl

© 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers B.V. (KvK 34180289). Alle rechten voorbehouden.

Soms wil je alleen de sfeer proevenSoms wil je het onderste uit de kan

In Barcelona voel je het bruisen. Van de Sagrada Familia tot Parc Güell; er hangt iets moois in de lucht. De stad is continu in ontwikkeling en daarmee is het de aangewezen plek voor zowel een prettige als pittige business course. Heb jĳ de ambitie om jezelf verder te ontwikkelen én wil je PwC en je toekomstige collega’s leren kennen? Schrĳ f je dan in vóór 7 oktober 2012.

Kom verder met de Audit Course Barcelona

Wanneer, wie en hoe?Van 22 tot en met 25 november 2012

3e- en 4e- jaars studenten met ambities binnen Accountancy

Meld je vóór 7 oktober 2012 aan opwerkenbijpwc.nl/auditcoursebarcelona

Volg “werkenbijpwc” op Facebook en Twitter

Risk Magazine 1 - 2012-2013

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Transcript of Risk Magazine 1 - 2012-2013