The SAFE Policy Advisory Council (PAC), which advises the Policy Center of the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, convened for its first meeting on 1 February 2021. The PAC is composed of international experts on financial markets and financial market regulation, identifies relevant topics, and provides its assessment of SAFE Policy Center projects and their implementation.
The 12-member panel voted unanimously to appoint Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, as its chairperson and John C. Berrigan, Director General Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) at the European Commission, as vice chairperson.
In addition, PAC members discussed policy options for dealing with rising government and corporate debt in the wake of the Corona crisis, as well as recent SAFE Policy Center studies on the issue. The most recent publication in this series was a set of criteria for policy action in the context of non-performing loans (NPLs). Previously, the SAFE Pandemic Policy Team had already proposed an equity-like financing model as an alternative to credit support for companies (European Pandemic Equity Fund, EPEF).
Also on the agenda of the PAC meeting was the topic of sustainability in the financial sector, its definition and measurement. Here, too, international researchers have already presented initial results in an ongoing SAFE research project.
The SAFE Policy Advisory Council will meet on an annual basis starting in November 2021 and will continue to support the work of the SAFE Policy Center at its meetings. The objective is to support the SAFE Policy Center in establishing and expanding a network of policy makers and political institutions within and outside Europe.
