Spring 2010 Newsletter

MAD Event - April 28, 2010

Meet Member Linda Wittich - A True Believer in Networking

Get Motivated in 2010

WBC February Event - "The New Post-Recession Paradigm"

WBC March Event - "Economic Impact of Regulations Changes"

Career Day Panels at UASBYW

MAD Event April 28, 2010

On Wednesday April 28, members of the Women's Bond Club gathered at Pier Sixty for an evening of celebration: the Merit Award Dinner. The event gives the Club an opportunity to recognize extraordinary contributors to women in finance. First is the Rising Star winners -- young women who have been selected by their firms as up-and-coming leaders. Second is the winner of the Club's Isabel Benham Award, which recognizes the contributions of an exceptional woman who has devoted much of her career to helping other women. Finally, the evening recognizes the winner of the annual Merit Award, which is a woman who has made a significant contribution to the financial community.

The evening opened with cocktails and mingling, and at 6:30 the formal program began. After an introduction by Liz Byrnes, Co-President of the Women's Bond Club, the opening address was delivered by Bob Kelly, Chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon. Mr. Kelly noted that a key reason for his personal support of the Bond Club is that research has shown that firms with greater numbers of women in leadership positions have higher revenues and profits and are considered some of the best places to work. He went on to celebrate the role of several women who hold prominent positions at BNY Mellon, as well as their 2010 Rising Star (Denise Morgenthaler) and a senior woman from their Middle East division who attended the dinner.

Next on the program was presentation of the Rising Stars. Myra Woods, Vice President of the Women's Bond Club, read off each name and presented each winner with an award. To see Rising Star biographies, please click here.

After a break for dinner, the program resumed with an overview of the Bond Club's Scholarship Program. Vicky Morgenstein, Scholarship Co-Chair, commented that the Bond Club has awarded five hundred thousand dollars, representing 38 scholarships, over the past 10 years. Scholarship winners compete against many graduates for jobs, and excel in these jobs. For these young women, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds, the scholarship is the key to launching a successful career in finance. Not only does it help them offset educational costs, but it also provides critical support along the way via mentoring, resume review, internships and access to experienced women colleagues who can help them sort through decisions they make at every stage. The impact of the scholarship was evidenced in the video that was shown at the dinner. To view the video, click here.

Dana Dakin, the Isabel Benham Award winner, took over the podium after an introduction by Heidi Solomon, Merit Award Dinner Co-Chair. Ms. Dakin spoke with passion about her organization, Women's Trust, which runs a micro-finance program in Ghana. Women's Trust creates paths for women and girls to build their own way out of poverty. With only a modicum of support, they "go for the gold." As Ms. Dakin reminded the audience, "There but for the accident of birth go you and I." After a successful career in the world of institutional investment, seven years ago Ms. Dakin launched the "Return" phase of her life by starting the program in Ghana, and she has never looked back. Ms. Dakin's biography can be found here.

The formal program wrapped up with remarks by Karen Dunn Kelley, winner of the Merit Award. Fran Tutone Kapner, Co-President of the Bond Club, introduced Ms. Kelley with a review of her illustrious career, starting with Drexel Burnham Lambert and leading up to Invesco, where Ms. Kelley is the Chief Executive Officer of Invesco Worldwide Fixed Income. In her remarks, Ms. Kelley focused on why the Women's Bond Club is so important in this era of globalization: Because of its ability to contribute to and foster diversity among leaders in the financial community. Ms. Kelley's family exemplified the push toward diversity: Her mother was one of the first female lifeguards in New York City. Ms. Kelley closed with a reminder that is relevant to all of us: "Your word is your bond." As we chart our careers through the financial world today, and lead women to greater roles within our firms, that is a timely reminder. Ms. Kelley's biography can be found here.

Once the dinner program was over, attendees moved to the cocktail party at the end of the pier and enjoyed drinks and appetizers with a stunning view of the Hudson. The Rising Stars, their supporters and mentors, and Club members lingered to share ideas and laughter. We all look forward to seeing each other again next year!

For selected photos of the event, please go to our website via this link.

Meet Member Linda Wittich - A True Believer in Networking

Fourteen years into her career, Linda Wittich knew something was wrong. "I just did not feel comfortable in my skin," she says. By anyone's standards, Linda was extremely successful as a Vice President at Broadridge Financial Solutions (formerly ADP), one of the largest technology services companies focused on global capital markets. She started there in 1999 after working for a number of years in strategy, business development and sales at the National Securities Clearing Corporation and Citibank, NA.

So what was the problem? According to Linda, it was the culmination of several events beginning with the tragedy of 9/11 that made her realize it was more important to feel good about what she did every day than to pursue accomplishments. "The loss of so many lives that day, and then having so many friends lose their jobs in the months that followed, made me realize the importance of making connections. To help others where I could, and to build genuine relationships with my colleagues became more vital to me than simply focusing on my own success."

An associate then asked Linda to participate as a mentor in a company seminar for women identified as having management potential. At first, Linda resisted as most of her mentors were men and she didn't want to be perceived as a token. "I thought this would be an exercise in defining different success measures for women. Instead, I found that working with these women was extremely rewarding and, more important, I realized they were experiencing the same feelings and anxieties I had." The mentoring experience was so enjoyable for Linda that she later joined WOMEN Unlimited, a nationally recognized resource for cultivating leadership excellence.

With the insights she gained from her mentoring experience, Linda realized that women often base their career strategies on principles that feel alien to them. "I was measuring my success by other people's standards. My personal drivers and motivations were different. I felt like a fraud!" She decided it was time to do things her way. "My leadership style changed. I moved away from the stoic executive image, built strong working relationships with colleagues, and placed my focus on adding value to people and our collective involvement in bringing worth to the company. I became more interested in being valuable to people than in calling attention to my own accomplishments."

What was quickly apparent to Linda was that networking was the most important facet of her new approach. "Networking requires your time and attention - 'work' is part of networking. You must build honest, sincere relationships with clients, colleagues and acquaintances. Rather than just sharing office gossip, get their insights on what is affecting the business, what they think are the big issues. Discuss your ideas with them."

For Linda, networking is an essential technique for women to further their careers. "Many women become so focused on their tasks that they miss the bigger picture. You need to spend time with colleagues discussing the issues of the day and even having some fun! And don't be afraid to talk to people - delight in hearing someone's personal story and you may discover insights to your situation."

Linda believes that it is even more important to continue these relationships when a colleague leaves the company. "I spend a great deal of time making calls and sending messages to my network of friends that now number hundreds of people. I also believe you must 'Pay it forward' - be ready to offer assistance when someone needs it. Whether or not that person will help you at some future time is not the point - the helping itself is the reward." She also believes in taking a proactive stance when a friend is in need. "If someone needs help, offer it. If you can't offer them a solution, put them in contact with someone who can."

Although networking is a concept familiar to most of us, Linda feels it is not always understood. "Networking is not about spending a few minutes chatting with someone and exchanging business cards. True networking is building relationships based on honesty and integrity with people you can rely on to steer you in the right direction and to give you candid feedback."

Linda's belief in networking was recently reinforced as she began designing Investor On-Boarding, a new business opportunity for her company. After the concept started taking shape, she decided to test market it to her network of contacts in the industry. Because they were honest, they told her where the concept had merit, where it fell short of expectations and helped brainstorm on how it could become ideal. Because she trusted them, Linda reworked her concept based on their comments. Today, the product is being launched and provides significant value to clients by enabling them to improve the investor experience and increase advisor satisfaction, all while reducing operational expense and streamlining compliance.

"These are people I have known and worked with over a period of 25 years. I needed their honesty - a polite but vague response would have been useless to me." Linda's strong commitment to networking is also reflected in her work with the WBC Marketing Committee where she has been instrumental in establishing sites for WBC members on both Facebook and Linked-In.

Women have the edge when it comes to networking, Linda believes. "Women like to talk and share experiences. We enjoy collaboration. While this may be viewed as a weakness by some - it doesn't outwardly display assertiveness or the desire to compete - often, these traits are not motivating for women. That is why we can feel so conflicted when we take this path."

Asked what her advice to women in the early stages of their careers would be, Linda replies, "Be yourself. Many women mess up because they are not true to themselves. You can't do a great job if your motivation does not feel right. And network!!! You will get back much more that you give."

Linda Wittich is Vice President of Investor On-Boarding Solutions at Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. She is responsible for building the product across Broadridge's suite of services. Prior to joining Broadridge, she was Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing at the National Securities Clearing Corporate where she established the corporate strategic planning, product management and internal management consulting functions. Linda started her career in 1987 at Citibank, NA as an Operations Manager and grew her responsibilities from Operations to Product Development to Business Management. A member of the WBC for two years, Linda serves on the Marketing Committee where she has contributed her time, insights and creative ideas to the launch the club's social networking sites and rebranding project.

Get Motivated in 2010

Create a high-functioning cross-functional team

Cross-functional teams always sound like a good idea: Bring a group of people with different skills from different departments together in a room, then sit back and watch the creativity flow. In reality, though, they take a lot of work. Here's how to increase your chances of success:

• Choose a leader with the right mix of skills. If you're the leader of a cross-functional team, you need both technical expertise and interpersonal skills. You need to know enough about the nuts and bolts of the project you're working on to direct the team, and you need the interpersonal skills necessary to help people with different backgrounds and competencies work together constructively.
• Stay connected. Don't allow the team to grow isolated and insular. Bring them into contact with customers, senior management, vendors, members of other departments--anyone who might be affected by the team's work, and who can offer ideas or help overcome obstacles.
• Smaller is better. Don't make the common mistake of trying to include everyone from every conceivable department on the team. The larger the team, the more difficult communication becomes. Also, people feel less personally accountable when they're part of a big team. The ideal number is four to seven, with 10 as the upper limit.

--Adapted from the Glenn Parker Web site

Are you making these mistakes that undermine staff engagement?

Engaging and motivating your employees should be a clear-cut effort, but many employers manage to mess it up. To get it right, avoid these common mistakes:

• Coming on too strong. You can't force engagement, nor buy it, nor command your employees, "Be engaged!" It's going to be take time, so be ready for a sustained, long-term effort.
• Ignoring work/life issues. You want employees to be committed to their jobs, but they'll resist your efforts if you expect them to be driven by your organization's goals 24/7. Establish policies that accommodate their needs outside of work: flex-time, telecommuting, and so forth.
• Not communicating benefits. Your benefits package is a big component of employee engagement, but many companies don't bother to let their workers know just what's available. Explain what you offer through the year (not just during the enrollment period) and in a variety of formats (not just an e-mail).
• Lack of individual attention. No matter how large your organization is, people still want to be treated as individuals, not just members of departments, or numbers. Your appraisal process should address their personal growth and goals, not just the needs of the company.
• Poorly aligned values. Does your organization really practice the values outlined in your mission statement? If employees see any contradiction, they'll wonder what you really want from them. Cynicism and corner-cutting can undermine everything your organization is trying to accomplish.

--Adapted from the HR Zone Web site

The New Post-Recession Paradigm
Hosted by Nomura - February 11, 2010

On February 11, 2010, the Japan Society presented a panel discussion titled "The New Post-Recession Paradigm," co-sponsored by Columbia Business School's Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB). The panelists were Susan Jansen, head of U.S. credit research at Nomura Securities International; her colleague David Resler, chief economist at Nomura; and Alicia Ogawa, a senior advisor at CJEB and Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. About 150 people attended the discussion, which was moderated by Leslie Norton, the Asia foreign editor of Barron's, at the Japan Society in New York City.

In just over a year, new regimes have swept into power in both the United States and Japan, with financial industry regulatory reform playing a key role in the two countries. The panelists shared their views on the shape of regulatory reform, what it means for business, and the role of politics in the creation of new rules.

Global economic conditions are improving, albeit more slowly in mature markets hampered by high unemployment than in Asia's emerging markets. China, however, is withdrawing liquidity, so it is an open question whether this pace of growth is sustainable in 2010. In her opening remarks, Leslie Norton quoted Bill Gross of PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company). "Now that the credit bubble has burst and economies have grown dependent on stimulus spending," he said, "The Republican orthodoxy of lowering taxes is broken. The Keynesian orthodoxy of government spending is broken. What we really need is some new orthodoxy."

The Global Financial Forecast
Ms. Norton: What is your opinion regarding global financial conditions for the rest of the year? There has been a lot of turbulence in parts of Europe and Ireland over the past week. Will the trouble there be confined to Europe, or will it spread?

Mr. Resler said that one lesson learned from the crisis is that no one can be complacent in the face of turmoil anywhere in the world. Financial contagion is a reality, and it's very easy to see how a seemingly minor problem in a narrow segment spread and became a worldwide financial catastrophe. This raises questions for the stability of the financial system. Still, he added, the global economy is again on more solid footing. Most economies are once more growing, and while it hasn't lasted long enough to be a full©\blown recovery, it is encouraging. The big surprise has been the strength of the U.S. manufacturing sector, for which the United States owes a debt of gratitude to the much stronger economies in Asia, particularly outside Japan.

Ms. Jansen noted that, within the United States, not only is the manufacturing sector improving, but a handful of consumer sectors seem to be strengthening as well. She cited strong year-over-year retail sales and cruise line bookings. While this surprise is encouraging, the recovery is extremely fragile. She compared the situation to a survivor of a severe heart attack in 2008 who was put on medication and began to feel better, but now the drugs have to be withdrawn. There are plenty of areas like the commercial real estate sector that are in great difficulty, she added, and contagion makes it clear there is no part of the world that is not connected.

Ms. Ogawa said there are few signs of recovery in Japan's economy, still one of the largest in the world. The Bank of Japan is predicting two more years of deflation, although at the same time it says deflation is intolerable. The population is declining, and the percent of the working age population that is employed is the lowest on record. She noted that since Japan has experienced deflation, low growth, or recession for so long, it's really difficult to see what will spark an increase in domestic demand. A 30-year-old Japanese person making career choices has never seen interest rates or the stock market go up in his or her adult life. Sociologically, that is an important study waiting to be done.

She noted that, unlike most countries, which have problems because they are connected and vulnerable, Japan's problem is that it is not connected with other economies. It will soon be forced to be connected with global capital markets because of the government's financing need relative to the size of domestic savings available to buy new government bonds. The enormous Japanese government bond (JGB) market is 95 percent owned by domestic investors--retail and institutional--and government institutions. The small percentages of foreigners who have dabbled in the JGB market have often lost much of their investment due to developments that they could not predict. They therefore do not have the appetite for taking up JGBs, particularly at these rates. The low rates on JGBs have persisted even as the budget deficit has exploded. The total government deficit on a gross basis is more than 200 percent of GDP, which is far worse than any of the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) countries, and even on a net basis is way above 100 percent of GDP.

Ms. Ogawa said that, with the current bond market and its trillions of yen that are left to be refinanced, and the new bond issues that have to be undertaken to support current social programs, the problem is who is going to buy. Households in Japan, directly and indirectly, own 51 percent of JGB issues through their bank accounts or their pension funds. But as the population ages and shrinks, these households can be expected to draw on their savings to finance consumption. The issue is not default risk, but rather the risk of significant interest rate volatility.

Ms. Ogawa added that it is unclear where the demand for JGBs is going to come from next. If foreigners step in, they will demand much higher interest rates, and it would be very interesting and difficult to see how the JGB market reacts.

Recovery Predictions
Ms. Norton: What kind of recovery can there be in the United States, given the debt crisis? Japan's experience has suggested that a deflation will thwart recovery. Is this what the United States has to look forward to?

Mr. Resler said he did not think the U.S. situation would be quite as dire as that seen by Japan over the last decade and a half, because the U.S. monetary policy has been quite different. Nomura's chief economists have been traveling and studying the issue and have created an intriguing chart that shows the response of monetary policy authorities in the United States, Europe, and Japan. There is a striking dissimilarity between the U.S. and European central bank response and that of Japan to the recent crisis.

Mr. Resler said that within the U.S. and European central banks, officials take the option of quantitative easing seriously when interest rates are at very low levels. This policy has helped stabilize the economy and put the United States back on a positive growth trajectory. Japan, which faced very similar circumstances and is 10 to 15 years into their crisis, has had very limited quantitative easing. Mr. Resler added that the U.S. recovery would be very different from what is expected after a very deep recession. Households are going to be reducing indebtedness because household debt levels are unsustainably high. In addition, consumer spending will grow a lot less rapidly than it typically does in the early stages of recovery. The United States will have to derive an atypical share of its growth from exports and from capital spending.

Mr. Resler said the good news is that the outlook is brighter than he believed a few months ago. The strength of the Chinese and other non-Japan Asian economies is likely to be pulling exports from not only the rest of Asia, but also from the United States and Europe, providing a lift to the global economy. As it does so, U.S. businesses will simply need to invest more in plants and equipment in order to meet that demand. While consumer spending is not going to be the engine of growth for the global economy that it has been for most of the last 20 years, the U.S. economy will probably grow at or above its potential for the foreseeable future. That will lead to a gradual decline in the unemployment rate, and inflation will remain benevolently low, as will short-term interest rates.

Ms. Jansen said she agreed with Mr. Resler. She noted that the largest share of the U.S. corporate market is sitting on an astounding amount of cash--about $1.2 trillion, according to the cash on hand figures on balance sheets for the majority of S&P companies. That capital probably will get deployed at some point when businesses become optimistic about demand. There has been insufficient spending on technology for the past couple of years and that will probably change this year.

She added that, as of the most recent quarterly earnings release, about 88 percent of the S&P 500 has actually beaten expectations, versus about 60 percent at this time last year. Because corporations themselves have low expectations of growth rates and are sitting on a lot of cash, she agreed it probably would not be the U.S. consumer who would kick-start spending.

Ms. Ogawa noted that this was one similarity between the United States and Japan. Companies have reported better net earnings, even though sales have been lower, by cutting expenses--largely jobs and salaries. In the case of Japan, this has gone on for a decade, with the result that there has been no growth in salaries or wages and a record high unemployment rate. Yet even with these earnings, companies refuse to go out and hire more workers or pay higher bonuses and salaries. This has been going on for nearly ten years, so it is a structural problem, and Ms. Ogawa expressed hope that the United States could avoid similar problems.

New Financial Architecture
Ms. Norton: Ms. Jansen referred to a global bank tax earlier. Are the U.S. and Japanese governments going too far, or not far enough, in terms of proposed reforms? Which initiatives do you think are the most important?

Ms. Jansen said that comprehensive regulation of financial markets and consumer protection is a hot topic and is very debatable. The idea is to provide government tools and enhance intergovernmental cooperation across the globe. These proposals have merit, but they're going to have a huge impact on businesses as rules and regulations get promulgated. Huge amounts of additional reporting burdens can make companies nervous, especially in terms of cost. However, history has shown that the costs can end up being relatively minimal and everyone can benefit from more transparency.

Ms. Ogawa said she sees the proposed tax as a response to a structural problem still to be addressed, which is that some financial companies are still thought of as too big or too important to fail. The consequence is that their cost of capital is artificially low. Instead, they should pay the cost of capital commensurate with their true risk profile. This would solve the issue of compensation structures because the companies can only compensate employees with what is left over after paying to raise capital.

Japan hasn't shown much initiative on this issue because its whole market is still very much bank dominated, Ms. Ogawa added. The financial system in Japan is not flexible enough to support fund raising for new ventures. She said the CEO of a large Japanese bank operating in the United States told her he has managed to trade his loan portfolio from high risk to better risk as liquidity has come back into the market, noting that this could not have happened in Japan. She would like to see the Japanese capital markets become much more flexible, developed, deep, and much less reliant on banks.

Mr. Resler said the crisis has opened up weaknesses in the financial system that regulators missed and that legislators around the world want to fix. The problem is that the regulators didn't know enough to spot them, and the legislators don't know how to fix them. It is exacerbated by appealing to populist sentiment derived from an ill-defined public interest.

He pointed to historical evidence that the recent financial problems were caused by poor regulation in the past. He included the failure for at least 15 years to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Legislators instructed those institutions to essentially create subprime loans to create housing opportunities for the disadvantaged. The Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982, which increased deposit insurance from $40,000 to $100,000, was another factor. This legislation created the thrift crisis of the 1990s, which gave rise to the creation of mortgage-backed securities. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in turn, was created as a response to the failures of Enron and WorldCom, and is a worthless piece of legislation.

Mr. Resler said that, in reregulating something as complex as the financial markets, it is easy to define the rough outlines of what ought to be done. However, it is another matter altogether to do so in an effective manner. While he is confident that some kind of financial reform will pass this year, he cannot vouch for the results.

Question and Answer Session
Question: What propositions does the financial sector have for improving the regulatory situation?

Mr. Resler said many people in the financial sector believe that, as bad as things are, increasing regulation is likely to make it worse. Still, reforms are needed. If the proposed bank fees were used to create a new resolution authority to resolve financial institution failures that are not covered by the FDIC, instead of merely to recapture TARP investments, it would be a step in the right direction. The issue isn't that institutions are too big to fail; it is that they are too complex and interconnected. Furthermore, creditors should be responsible for bearing the losses and be more attentive to the balance sheets of their counterparties.

Ms. Ogawa agreed that there could be positive regulation, which could be helpful in terms of standards for when global bankruptcies need to be resolved. The fact is that financial institutions fail and cause trouble and will do so every number of years. There are only three approaches to take when this happens: inject capital, set up an asset management company to sell off bad assets, or steepen the yield curve so banks can earn back lost money. The question is, who pays for the bank rescues, and through what format?

Ms. Jansen said the movement for greater transparency in the derivatives market, by having derivatives cleared over exchanges, is getting support from the industry. With transparency one can begin to limit risk. But she agreed that the other challenge is finding regulation that fits across different players in the markets, from hedge funds to regional S&Ls.

Ms. Ogawa said she was skeptical greater transparency would make a difference. When the exposure of AIG in the credit default swaps market was disclosed, no one raised questions about what was known about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She said political will and investor responsibility must be developed, in addition to greater transparency.

Question: Can reforms truly regulate human behavior and the desire for risky, high-yield markets, or should financial institutions control their own level of exposure and risk because there will always be people who take big risks?

Ms. Ogawa said Wall Street is adept at meeting the demand for great risk and reward. Once someone is earning 32 percent a year, then that becomes the standard everyone else wants to meet, and banks are going to create complex, risky products to deliver that kind of yield. She added that some of the top Fortune 500 companies are still basing their pension liabilities on the expected yield of 9 percent. So the Treasury could regulate by saying that, for an endowment or pension fund, X percent over Treasury yields is deemed risky.

Ms. Jansen acknowledged that the return of the high-risk triple-C index was stunning in the face of some very high default rates, although the default rate has been falling dramatically. Still, she said, the bottom line is that letting people invest in risk is what a market is all about.

Economic Impact of Regulations Changes
Hosted by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch - March 15, 2010

More or fewer regulations on global markets: Subject of lively discussion at the Women's Bond Club meeting at Bank of America

The impact of changing governmental regulations on global markets -- and whether the rules should be strengthened or weakened -- was the subject of a lively discussion at a recent meeting of the Women's Bond Club at Bank of America's offices in New York City.

More than 200 Bank of America associates and members of the Women's Bond Club, a New York City based professional organization for women in finance, filled an auditorium to hear both sides of the contentious issue from a panel of experts.

"This was a gathering where everyone was genuinely engaged, with the panel, the moderator and the audience constantly interacting in a very good discussion on an important topic," said Susan Green, head of Enterprise Business Architecture. "Many attendees told me that this was one of the best discussions they had attended, led by an excellent moderator."

Attending the 90-minute event on March 15 were Women's Bond Club members from the firm and across Wall Street. They were joined by Bank of America associates from Global Banking and Markets, Global Technology and Operations and Global Wealth and Investment Management.

Introducing the event, and a panel member, was Mary Ann Bartels, head of Technical & Market Analysis for BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Bartels, a veteran with more than two decades in research, spoke of what impact the economy, the state of the banking industry and governmental regulations could have on the markets.

The panel was moderated by Kathleen Hays, an economics reporter and anchor for Bloomberg television. Also on the panel was Jeffrey Rosenberg, head of Global Credit Strategy Research at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Rosenberg's areas of focus include high-grade, high-yield and credit derivatives. Rounding out the panel were Andrew Freeman, executive director of the Deloitte Banking Center, and Sam Pilcer, managing director of Debt Capital Markets at Credit Agricole.

"The depth and expertise of the panelists offered a great deal in highlighting the focus of the event. The panelists held a lively debate on whether the government should have a larger role or if we should opt for self accountability without an increase in regulations," said Hema Popat, of Enterprise Technology & Delivery.

The panel discussion kicked off with respective observations gleaned from recently released items, such as the report from the court appointed investigator general regarding the Lehman collapse and Senator Chris Dodd's recent proposals for regulatory reform.

Debated observations included the role of senior management and risk management failures, the industry's appetite for leverage and how that differed between the banks, broker dealers and hedge fund firms; liquidity, product complexity and any role regulators and regulations may have played in the crises were also discussed. Broad comparisons were drawn between the financial crises and the regulatory framework in place in the 1930s and 2008. Also discussed briefly were the roles and responsibilities of the shareholders and boards.

The discussion was lively and the conversation was a productive combination of multiple perspectives on the rapid market decline. Panel members had differing views on whether the industry should see more or less regulation to avoid a repeat crisis.

Also closely examined was the controversial repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which permitted banks to merge with investment houses and insurance companies. Critics of the measure have said that banks have since grown too large to be permitted to fail. "The event provided an opportunity for industry professionals to gain insights into the changing regulatory landscape, provided by a diverse panel," said Debbie Hartley, of the Short-Term Fixed Income Desk at Global Banking and Markets. "The panel debated the thrust of the new regulations and their intended and unintended consequences."

Career Day Panels at UASBYW

The WBC is a partner with the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women, a NYC public high school whose mission is to provide a high-quality college preparatory education to young women of diverse backgrounds in a nurturing environment. On April 30, over 40 WBC women participated in career panels at the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women.

The morning started by picking up classroom assignments from Charitable Giving Co-Chair Eleanor Weille, who coordinated the event. We proceeded to a continental breakfast in the school cafeteria to meet students and staff and enjoy informal talks. Students were also on hand to provide tours of their new school facilities at 26 Broadway. After introductions by principal Patricia Minaya, speakers reported to their first classroom. In groups of three, the women spoke to a total of 26 classes, sharing personal stories about their education, career path, work/life challenges and life experiences. The students were very engaged and interested in the experiences we shared as well as hearing about different types of firms and positions within the financial services industry. During the Q&A sessions, there was some very lively dialogue and great questions were posed by the students.

Principal Minaya expressed her gratitude to the WBC for their commitment to the UASBYW. Everyone who participated enjoyed the morning and we look forward to doing it again next year.

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