School of Law

Panel 2: Macro-financial aspects of the pandemic

11.15 - 12.45

Chair: Prof. Emilios Avgouleas 

Financial system resilience Charles Goodhart Professor Emeritus of Banking and Finance, Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics


The pandemic has accelerated a number of major economic and financial changes that were already in process, including deglobalisation, great power rivalry, ageing societies, declining domestic workforces, worsening fiscal conditions and an excess of debt.  The Great Financial Crisis was the result of an excess of debt in the financing system.  The coronavirus has massively worsened the excessive debt ratios everywhere else.  With inflation likely to rise, this cannot be allowed to continue.

Charles Goodhart’s career has alternated between academia (Cambridge, 1963-65; LSE, 1967/68; again 1985-date), and work in the official sector, mostly in the Bank of England (Department of Economic Affairs, 1965/66; Bank of England, 1968-85; Monetary Policy Committee, 1997-2000).  He has been a specialist monetary economist, focussing on policy issues and on financial regulation, and has written more books and articles on these subjects than any sane person would want to read.  

Dispute Resolution issues related to the Pandemic Sir William Blair, Queen Mary University of London, 3VB Chambers London

Will the crisis lead, as Mario Draghi has feared, to a “plethora of defaults”?  Will that lead, as the UK Government has flagged up, to a “plethora of disputes” impairing the economic recovery?  This is a global question, and places the spotlight on how lawyers, courts and arbitrators will deal with the crisis, in circumstances in which courts in many parts of the world are only now slowly reopening. Technology will play its part, as disputes are dealt with remotely perhaps signalling a permanent move in that direction.  

Sir William (Bill) Blair is a former Judge of London’s Commercial Court and is now a member the International Advisory and Dispute Resolution Unit (IADRU) at 3VB Chambers in London. Professor of Financial Law and Ethics at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, Bill has wide experience in financial matters globally.  On the dispute resolution side, as well as arbitration, he has various judicial roles in the Middle East and China, and is a qualified mediator. He is Chair of the Bank of England’s Enforcement Decision Making Committee (EDMC), and chairs the Law and Ethics in Finance Project, an informal group concerned with raising standards in the financial sector. He was the first President of the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities, and chairs the Monetary Law Committee of the International Law Association.  Bill is a Member of the Ethics Committee of Digital Catapult’s AI Machine Intelligence Garage. 

Post-Covid Sovereign Debt Distress Prof. Lee Bucheit Hon. University of Edinburgh Law School; Visiting Professor, Centre for Commercial Law Studies (London)


The world entered the Covid-19 era with record high levels of sovereign debt. The longer term consequences of the pandemic may place a number of countries in debt distress. 

Lee C. Buchheit retired in 2019 following a 43 year legal career. Over the course of his career, Mr. Buchheit worked on over two dozen sovereign debt restructurings and led the legal teams advising Greece (2012) and Iraq (2005-08) -- the two largest sovereign debt workouts in history. 
 
  

Macroprudential risks and remedies following Covid-19 Prof. Charles Nolan, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

The sudden drop in economic activity following the onset of the virus across the globe poses major problems for economic policymakers, not least macroprudential policymakers. This talk will summarise briefly some of the immediate risks and potential remedies as well as longer term risks from any actions taken. Are there negative consequences for the medium and long-term from highly accommodative short-term regulatory action? 

Nolan is Bonar-MacFie Chair of Political Economy at The University of Glasgow. He began his career as a banking supervisor at the Bank of England before moving into the Monetary Assessment and Strategy Division. His research interests include monetary and fiscal economics and macroeconomic dimensions of financial regulation.