ECFS 2021:
Professional skills will matter more than diplomas in the economy of the future
A macro education would lead to a micro indebtedness
Bucharest, March 12, 2021- Financial services have entered a new era, in which new models of financial education focused on consumer and company protection, digitalization and innovation dictate the new rules. Whoever keeps up with the transformation will increase, whoever does not, will retire in decline. The financial services of the future will include robots, open financial services, artificial intelligence. And the new generations of consumers will impose themselves more in the financial market. These are some of the conclusions of the 5th edition of the European Financial Services Conference on "Challenges of the new decade in the financial services sector", which took place on Wednesday, 11 March, in online format.
The conference was attended by 118 participants from academia - teachers, PhD students, students - from business - representatives of insurance companies, private pensions and investments, as well as representatives of the Financial Supervisory Authority.
The event included a plenary session, two debates and 6 scientific panels, with 57 interventions:
Financial career development for young graduates
Professionalization of financial markets in customer support
General trends in the financial services sector
Modern concerns in the financial reporting process
Challenges of the digital economy
"In the last year, progress has been made in terms of digitalization for the Romanian market, as it would normally have been seen in a few years, somehow forced by the pandemic we are going through. According to the analyzes, the advantages of digitalization are the reduction of time, the transparency of the processes, the safety of the user but also the reduction of costs ", said Valentin Ionescu, president of the Institute of Financial Studies, at the opening of the conference.
Financial education is a priority that every country must take into account, especially in the current context and in the context of innovation and digitalisation. This is complementary to consumer protection. This requires even more attention from the authorities because it contributes to maintaining confidence in the markets, according to Dan Armeanu, vice president of the Financial Supervisory Authority, responsible for the private pensions sector.
"The Financial Supervisory Authority has been committed in recent years to support and promote this process of financial education through various partnerships with universities, the business environment, school inspectorates through concrete actions. Moreover, in order to provide accurate and complete information to consumers, the Financial Supervision Authority emphasizes the training of financial product intermediaries. An important role is played by ISF, because these actions ensure the updating of the knowledge transmitted to customers. An important element that has influenced, in the last year, the economic processes, is the pandemic crisis that has changed the paradigm of the way of carrying out many activities but also the relationship with the clients. The risks have changed, maybe they have amplified. The impact on the development potential can be positive if this paradigm shift manifests itself qualitatively and leads to smart, digital development ", explained Dan Armeanu, vice president of the Financial Supervision Authority.
The mission of universities, in this ever-changing context, is to deliver graduates informed and connected to global realities. And for that, they need to get closer to the economic and social environment.
"ISF is our traditional partner. Along with which we continue to support professional training in niche areas, such as the actuarial master's program. ASE competes with foreign universities with budgets as large as Romania's national education budget. For these performances we had to prove and work hard. We got closer to the economic and social environment. Also, foreign partnerships are needed for transnational research projects ”said Nicolae Istudor, rector of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.
The academic environment must be connected to the economic reality and in terms of the educational offer.
"The pandemic is an opportunity to reset the world. Many things were said before the pandemic about the difficulties of adapting education to an increasingly dynamic world. Company representatives have complained for many years about the poor training of new employees. It has been found that in today's economy, fewer and fewer people work in the same profession with which they were initially trained. Many of them change either their profession or their field and need new knowledge, the initial training not being enough for professionalization. It must be judged whether what universities offer in this regard is appropriate, whether the emphasis on study for a single occupation is sufficient to prepare people for the changes that are coming. There are warnings that show that transversal competencies are more and more important ", explained Bogdan Murgescu, vice-rector for budgeting and human resources and, at the same time, teacher at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest.
In terms of financing the economy, the role of the stock market has become more important in the pandemic
"In the last 20 years, central banks have thrown money into the markets to deal with crises. The entire amount of money injected into the market had a role in counteracting the negative impact of the crises. This intervention was felt in the key interest rates, at the level of cost of money, respectively the cost of financing was reduced. These interest rate pressures have helped both governments and companies. The cost of financing for Romanian companies has decreased in recent years. In terms of deposits of companies and individuals, they have increased significantly. We also see a significant increase in the assets of pension funds, which also invest in local companies. If we look at the asset management area, we see the increase in the share allocation. It means that local fund managers allocate more money to investments in listed local companies. In this context flooded with liquidity, equity holders are looking for investment alternatives. This is where the role of the Bucharest Stock Exchange comes into play. Some of the largest Romanian companies are listed on BVB. In 2021, we expect to have at least 20 listings on bonds or shares. We are glad to see that local entrepreneurs look more and more often at the stock market as a source of financing ", explained Radu Hanga, president of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
In addition to financing, companies also need insurance to protect them during this period. The costs of the business pandemic must be borne in partnership between insurers and governments. From the perspective of insurance companies, the risks of the pandemic are not insurable.
"The adaptation of insurance companies to the new conditions was made from all points of view, respectively the offer, the way of managing the damages, the way the risks are assessed, the training of employees, the interaction with customers, etc. Related to the main risks, the biggest impact that the market has known during this period: Business Interuption - a form of insurance that compensates customers if there is a risk to the property and can no longer carry out economic activity. In fact, it was found that during this period, it was sold by insurance companies without being part of a property insurance. This has led to many disputes, especially in the context of many businesses being closed as a result of a government decision. And the pandemic part was evasive in insurance contracts, or not mentioned. An OECD assessment of the total volume of protection for companies shows that it is $ 4.5 trillion. The risk of a pandemic was not mentioned in these policies. But where it has been done, it has been decided that less than 1 percent of this value globally will be covered and paid. The Geneva Association for Insurance Research considers that pandemic risk is not insurable because business disruption is not an insurance criterion, because losses are neither probabilistic nor independent, and because disruptions are deliberate by government decision, and the loss maximum possible cannot be managed from the point of view of solvency ", explained Violeta Ciurel, former CEO of NN Romania.
The reality we are going through changes the game, and preparing and informing the consumer is essential. The professionalization of the market can not wait.
"In the pandemic, the appetite for investments in the capital market or in assets such as cryptocurrencies has increased. We need to pay attention to principles such as risk tolerance. We campaign for the adequacy of investments. I believe that people should also be trained on the risks of these investments and should be guided to choose the right type of investment for their personal risk profile. We want to show that the capital market, insurance products and investment products are not exclusively for the rich, on the contrary. I can help those on low incomes. When it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies, regulation will come to this area. It's new, we don't fully understand it, but I think the regulation will come. It is impossible to have a financial instrument around us that attracts so much attention from consumers and does not attract the attention of regulators. I am convinced that in the coming years we will see regulation and messages have already come from the authorities in this direction ", explained Alexandra Smedoiu, CFA President and Deloitte Partner.
Financial education programs have reached millions of Romanians, says Adrian Marin, president of UNSAR.
"By focusing on the younger generations, the non-banking financial markets and implicitly our industry ensure their future. We appreciate the approach of the academic area close to the business one, it creates the premises of an independent and financially responsible generation. In the pandemic, digitization processes were accelerated and many operations moved online. We will continue the financial education programs, whose beneficiaries are millions of Romanians "
Adrian Marin, President of UNSAR.
"The involvement of the academic environment in internship and financial education programs is to be appreciated. This is a facilitator between the market and the new generation of consumers. We will finally quantify the effectiveness of these programs. We hope that the degree of financial education will increase by at least a few percent ", added Dorel Duța, UNSICAR president.
We have learning opportunities in Romania, in terms of financial education, but there are still many steps to follow until we have a satisfactory level of financial education among the population. "However, the market and society have not advanced enough in terms of financial education. Just the fact that the best-selling policy for years is RCA, shows the low degree of financial education in insurance ", drew the attention of Adriana Grecu, president of PRBAR.
On the occasion of organizing this event, 6 prizes were offered, as follows:
Award for the best presentation Melinda Timea FULOP, Dan Ioan TOPOR, Alexandra Delia BUGNARIU, Babeș Bolyai University Cluj, 1 December 1918 University of Alba Iulia, for the paper "The role and importance of the audit function in non-banking financial institutions"
The award is given to the participant with the best academic presentation, who describes the approach she has taken to communicate her research and the impact it has generated.
Award for the best scientific contribution Alin Marius ANDRIEȘ, Nicu SPRINCEAN, Daniel JURAVLE, "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași for the work "COVID-19 pandemic and the performance of Romanian companies"
This award is dedicated to participants in the scientific field at the ECFS Conference who have conducted innovative and impactful research.
Award for the most loyal ECFS participant in the university environment Lect. univ. dr. Sergiu GOLUB, Babeș-Bolyai University
This award recognizes the efforts of teachers in attending the ECFS Conference each year. (interventions / participations)
Award for the most loyal ECFS participant in the business environment Ștefan PRIGOREANU, CEO, Millennium Insurance Broker
This award recognizes the efforts of business representatives in attending the ECFS Conference each year. (interventions / participations)
The award for the best supporter of the event Transilvania University of Brașov - Prof. univ. Dr. Marius DINCĂ
This award recognizes the efforts of universities to participate in the ECFS Conference. Universities are evaluated on the basis of the number of participants in the ECFS Conference.
Drd. Narcis PĂVĂLAȘCU, President of the Association of Insurance Arbitration and Mediation Center (ACAMA)
This award is given to the person who provided significant support to the event and to the entire activity of the ISF.
About the Institute of Financial Studies
The Institute of Financial Studies, subordinated to the Financial Supervision Authority, is a center of excellence in the field of studying the markets and conducting financial education programs to ensure the skills, abilities and knowledge of financial institutions and ASF staff and to increase the level of education non-banking financial services and products. In the long term, ISF aims to align its activity with European requirements, move from knowledge accumulation to skills accumulation and assessment, provide training programs for the non-banking financial field adapted to new organizational processes, determined by legislative requirements, market dynamics and of the European framework, contributing to the maturation of the non-banking financial market in Romania, to the creation of its capacity to face the competition induced by globalization or the effects of the economic crises.