Introduction

International Finance Conference 2009, held during December 3-5, 2009 was the first Conference of its type in Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

The Conference brought together over 100 professionals from 10 countries across the globe, North and South, to share their experiences and to learn from one another. The Conference was attended by a wide range of participants: researchers, academicians, doctoral students, industry practitioners and others interested in all areas of Finance.

Conference Programme

The Conference offered a good blend of plenary sessions, paper presentations and panel discussions. Research papers were presented by academicians and PhD scholars on all areas in Finance. Some of the areas are highlighted below:

• Asset Pricing
• Market Volatility
• Financial Innovation
• Financial risk management
• Operational risk and regulations
• Investment management
• High frequency finance
• Financial Regulation and Corporate Governance

The main Conference schedule included five plenary sessions and twenty two parallel sessions, broadly focused on the main themes. .
Opening Plenary speakers on Thursday 3rd Dec, 2009 included Dr. Shekhar Chaudhuri, Director of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman BoG and Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Co-ordinator of International Finance Conference 2009, Dr. Sthephen J Brown, David S. Loeb Professor of Finance Leonard N. Stern School of Business Kaufman Management Center, New York

Friday 4th Dec, 2009 began with two very different but very well attended plenary sessions. The first was on Behavioral Finance and the Financial Crisis presented by one of the keynote speakers Dr. A. Subrahmanyam, Goldyne and Irwin Hearsh Chair in Finance , The Anderson School, UCLA, Los Angeles.

The second plenary session on Friday morning was on the topic Greed, Leverage, and Potential Losses: A Prospect Theory Perspective presented by Xunyu Zhou, Oxford University, London.

Of course the Finance Conference was not only about attending formal programme sessions; it is also a unique networking opportunity. Participants’ feedback clearly articulated the importance of networking and the appreciation felt for the special sessions and programme time devoted to fostering it. These include the informal interaction sessions, the Special Lunches and Dinners during the Conference and a special OptiRisk India sponsored session. Spekers included Himadri Bhattacharya, Executive VP Tata Capital: R B Burman, Executive Director, RBI: Dr. Hira Sadhak, CEO LIC Pension Funds Ltd. India.

On the last day of the Conference 2009, there was a Valediction and Program Closure session where we gave awards to top three best papers presented during the Conference. Winners were given cash awards and a certificate from IIM Calcutta. The 1st prize was sponsored by State Bank of India while both the 2nd and 3rd prize was sponsored by Axis Bank Ltd.

Conference Summary

Looking back at the International Finance Conference 2009 now it is impossible to summarise the rich ideas that were shared over the three days. Feedback from the Conference was very positive – participants greatly enjoyed the chance to meet like-minded people from so many countries, the opportunity to network and to learn from one another, and the chance to explore ideas.

The next Conference, to be held in January 10-12, 2011 in Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, India is now eagerly awaited.