Is this just a financial crisis? Will it impact the “bricks-and-mortar” industries as well? And if so, what is the next round in this vicious circle? Can and should the governance issue be solved by the players within the financial industry or do we need politicians to change the market mechanics? How do we avoid future “too-big-to-fails”?
One could argue that market mechanics have no embedded memory and tend to make the same mistakes over and over again unless the underlying incentive structures and governance procedures change.
Discussions took place on September 12 and 13, 2008, just hours before the investment bank Lehman Brothers failed and was denied a government bailout, forcing it to file for bankruptcy. Although the general mood at that time was still rather positive, all participants shared their rather pessimistic view on the burgeoning financial crisis.
Please find more detailed information on the panels in our review (PDF below).