The 10 research areas

Does the financial sector in Denmark and the other Nordic countries create any economic wealth for society? If yes, can growth be achieved without accepting any additional risks from a governmental perspective?

Researchers

Tools/Remarks 

  • Quantative study
  • 20-30 OECD countries as reference pool
  • IMD Competitiveness Study
  • European countries (mostly EU, Switzer-land, and UK) countries as a reference pool
  • Firm-level data for European firms

Scope and output:

  • Ranking of Nordic and Baltic Financial sectors
  • Impact study on financial structure and its impact on economic growth 
  • Ranking of Nordic countries with respect to financial structure 
  • Academic papers for journal publication
  • Impact paper
  • Management summary with policy implications

Research questions:

  • What is the role of financial structure for  macro-economic growth?
  • Is the financial sector providing any competiveness from a macroeconomic perspective?
  • What is the financial structure of Denmark and other Nordic countries compared to other Nordic/European countries? What are the recent developments (compared to other European countries)
  • Does financial structure have an impact on financing decisions of the corporate sector? 
  • What explains investment behavior of the large European firms during the recent  financial crises?

What policy steps should be taken, if any, to ensure that monetary programmes are becoming more effective in the financial sector?

Researcher:

Tools/Remarks:

  • Quantative study: (1) Detailed register data on firm level for Danish banks and non-financial firms. (2) Detailed register data on both individual and firm level for Danish financial firms.
  • Policy review among Nordic countries

Scope and output:

  • Academic paper aimed at publication in finance journal.
  • Management summary with policy implications.
  • Newspaper article.
  • Academic paper aimed at publication in corporate governance journal.
  • Policy paper and impact assessment for the financial sector.

Research questions:

  • What is the relationship between firm growth and access to bank finance?
  • What role does the Danish co-determination model play regarding trust, commitment and productivity?
  • What is the impact of negative or zero interest environments?

What regulatory steps need to be taken in general to effectively deal with different aspects of a financial crisis in Europe and then to develop policy proposals for improving the regulatory (and treaty) framework upon which EU activity in financial regulation is built?

Researcher:

Tools/Remarks:

  • Meta study /benchmarking. 
  • Review of Regulatory Competition in the EU/globally.
  • Redesigning EU financial regulation.
  • Benchmarking and comparison of different regulatory options.
  • Legal, political and economic analysis of Brexit and the implications for the EU financial sector, including the Nordics.
  • Review of regulatory trends in Europe.
  • Review of current legislation.

Scope and output:

  • Paper for journal publication
  • Academic paper – explore extent of arbitrage and competition
  • Policy recommendations – assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the Nordic financial sector
  • Policy papers, blogs, public appearances 
  • Academic paper
  • To develop policy proposals for improving the regulatory (and treaty) framework upon which EU activity in financial regulation is built

Research questions:

  • What is the effect  of regulatory competition on financial regulation? What options exist to respond to the problems, e.g. threat to financial stability
  • Is global competition for financial services affecting the Nordic region? In which parts? If so, what can we do about it? 
  • What is the effect of Brexit on the current setup of the EU financial market?

What role, if any, has the Nordic corporate governance model for including employees and their representatives in corporate decision making played in the long-term prosperity of the sector and its responsibility towards society and employees?

Researchers:

Tools/Remarks:

  • Highlight particular differences and consequences.
  • Analysis of different international and European corporate governance models to understand if there is a Nordic model.
  • Analysis of the financial sector to see what corporate governance models are used in the Nordic countries.
  • Quantitative study: Detailed register data on both individual and firm level for Danish financial firms.

Scope and output:

  • Benchmarking the Nordic corporate governance model against other alternatives
  • Paper
  • Policy recommendations
  • Academic paper aimed at publication in corporate governance journal

Research Questions:

  • What role does the Nordic Corporate Governance Model play for the prosperity of the whole Nordic financial sector and its responsibility towards society and employees? What changes in this model can be identified – what are the tendencies for change and possible consequences for employees/companies/sector?
  • Is there a Nordic Governance model – and if yes, can it be used in the financial sector?
  • How does the Nordic governance model influences Nordic Finance?
  • What role does the Danish co-determination model play regarding trust, commitment and productivity?

How has this paradigm shifted impacted the regulatory framework, its scope, its coherence, its effects and what are the considerations behind it?What are the results of the new principles and framework of financial corporate governance, its development and the context of general financial regulation?What are the implications of the new role and tools of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the new framework for supervisory organization and its effects on the relationship between supervisor/state and financial companies?

Researcher:

Tools/Remarks:

  • Review of current legal framework
  • Review of past and current legal framework
  • Survey of the Danish banks

Scope and output:

  • Review of current framework, organizational set-up, policy recommendations based on research findings
  • Academic Paper
  • Policy recommendation based on research findings
  • Survey results and report about the relationship between the stakeholders

Research questions:

  • Does National compliance and Regulation have any material impact including on executives and employees?
  • What is the relationship between the Danish FCA and Danish directors, including board members?
  • What are the implications of the new role and tools of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the new framework for supervisory organization and its effects on the relationship between supervisor/state and financial companies?
  • How has this paradigm shift (after the 2008 financial crisis) impacted the regulatory framework, its scope, its coherence, its effects and what are the considerations behind it?
  • What are the results of the new principles and framework of financial corporate governance, its development and the context of general financial regulation?

What consequences could ROE targets have on the Nordic financial sector? How would alternative benchmarks stimulate sound and sustainable financial markets in the Nordic countries?

Researchers:

Tools / Remarks:

  • Quantative study

Scope and output: 

  • Paper publication showing the link between financial benchmarks, return expectations and risk profile for financial institution
  • Position paper

Research Questions:

  • Is there any link between financial benchmarks, risk and reward programs
  • What consequences could ROE targets have on the Nordic financial sector? Could these targets lead to negative behaviour from a risk management plus shareholder perspective and would one or several new benchmarks be more relevant both from an internal and external perspective?

Does the Nordic banking sector have any competitive advantages compared to other players in Europe? What business model can be applied in a low or zero interest environment and what would be the consequences from a business and regulatory perspective?

Researchers:

Tools/Remarks:

  • Industry analysis

Scope and output:

  • Paper
  • To be discussed

Research Questions:

  • Does the Nordic and in particular Danish banking sector have any competitive advantages compared to other players in Europe?
  • Can any of these advantages be used to build up a leading position inside the EU and what are the major competitor disadvantages or inappropriate framework conditions that would have to be addressed in the future for interregional, regional and local banks?
  • What business model can be applied in a low or zero interest environment and what would be the consequences from a business and regulatory perspective?

Can the Nordic countries and in particular Denmark become a base for a leading asset management industry? Can price and margin pressure be solved through product innovation?

Researchers:

Tools / Remarks:

  • Paper
  • Comparative analysis / industry feed-back

Scope and output:

  • Critical analysis of current tax environment
  • A brenchmark report about the US versus Nordic asset management industry
  • Academic paper aimed at publication in corporate governance journal.

Research Questions:

  • Is the tax framework conditions right for exporting financial services?
  • The Nordics and specifically Denmark has asset managers with a strong IT background as well as a remarkable track record. However, these asset managers face price pressure from international players and the trend of investing in low cost index funds. Based on the comparison between the Nordic and US asset management sector this study wants to examine the impact.

Can current Danish and Nordic banking strategies be maintained and what will the impact be of a low interest margin environment on current players? Will banks, as part of this process, be forced to move a part of their activities into advisory activities and be an intermediary of equity to small and medium-sized companies through new equity and crowdfunding models?

Researchers:

Tools / Remarks:

  • Review paper
  • Mix of quantitative and qualitative research
  • Quantitative research

Scope and output:

  • A benchmark report aiming at publication in a review paper in a focused journal.
  • Academic paper aimed at publication in economics or finance journal.
  • Management summary with policy implications.
  • Possibly development of a more practitioner-oriented paper, outlining the conclusions and implications of the analysis.

Research Questions:

  • SMEs worldwide struggle to raise capital. There are however significant cross-country differences in the level of difficulties SMEs face in identifying and accessing sources of funding. Taking a US vs. EU vs. Nordic countries perspective, this paper seeks to understand barriers to access to funding and identify elements conducive to easing financing constraints.
  • What informational constraints do SMEs face in the market for financing? How is SME funding risk allocated? What policies could be put in place to mitigate actual and perceived constraints?
  • Will banks, as part of this process, be forced to move a part of their activities into advisory activities and be an intermediary of equity to small and medium-sized companies through new equity and crowdfunding models?

Where will and how large will the job destruction process be in the traditional banking sector? How has the skill composition be changed? Can job creation in the fintech and advisory services fully or only partially compensate for this shift?

Researchers:

Tools / Remarks:

  • Quantative study
  • Detailed labor market data for employees in Danish financial firms.

Scope and output:

  • Academic paper aimed at publication in economics or finance journal.
  • Management summary with policy implications.
  • Short version article (in Danish) for Finans/Invest.

Research Question:

  • Job creation and destruction (churn) in the financial sector and skill composition over time