Panel Members
Efficient and effective implementation of financial markets policy and regulation requires practitioners, academics, and policymakers to engage in roles suited to their own unique competencies-whether understanding policy needs, studying policy theory, or planning and implementing policy-while exchanging views and information with experts in other fields.
The Financial Markets Panel comprises individuals with decades of experience and notable achievements in both the academic world and the markets. Brief profiles are presented below.
Panel Members Profiles:
Yukio Egawa
Chief Strategist, Research Division, Shinsei Securities
Field: Credit markets, credit risk, financial regulation
I have been involved in Japan's securitization market since its inception [in the mid-1990s]. Recently, however, I have been delving deeper into credit risk in general, which is becoming the main focus of my career. In recent years, central banks have tended to resort to unconventional monetary policies, amplifying monetary policy's relevance to credit and securitization. Meanwhile, with regulations that govern financial transactions and financial institutions' activities becoming ever more complex, it is becoming increasingly difficult to harness markets' resource allocation function to improve societal welfare. I look forward to participating in the Financial Markets Panel's discussions as a thinker about financial systems and monetary policy and hyper-curious observer of financial market events.
Shinichi Fukuda
Professor, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo
Field: Money and Banking, Macroeconomics, International Finance
As the global financial crisis worsened against the backdrop of a synchronous global recession, the central banks of the advanced nations began adopting unconventional monetary policy measures in late 2007. But the Bank of Japan was clearly the pioneer in this area, having first implemented such policies in the second half of the 1990s. By examining the role played by the BOJ's unconventional monetary policy, I think we can understand what role central banks need to play in macroprudential policy going forward.
Tetsuya Inoue
General Manager, Financial Technology and Market Research Department, Nomura Research Institute
Field: International Financial Market
For the Japanese economy to regain its vitality, I think it is essential that individuals with broader-based expertise participate in the policy formation process via constructive and meaningful discussion. The Financial Markets Panel represents a first step towards establishing such a process for policies and regulations in financial markets. I hope to engage in a lively exchange of opinion-incorporating a global perspective-at Panel meetings and to share our findings with those people who engage in both domestic and overseas financial markets.
Izuru Kato
President, Chief Economist, The Totan Research
Field: Money Market, Monetary Policy
Many central banks in the advanced economies implemented unconventional monetary policy on an unprecedented scale in the wake of the Lehman collapse. Although their actions calmed the panic in financial markets, few of these countries have reported enough economic growth to allow them to embark on an exit strategy. Moreover, the use of credit easing and other exceptional monetary policy tools risks creating distortions in the global economy and financial markets. I therefore hope to engage in a thorough discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of those policies.
Yukinobu Kitamura
Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
Field: Financial theory, fiscal studies, econometrics
I am researching the relationship between finance and fiscal policy from various angles. I believe that there is much to learn from history, particularly in times of great change like the past few years. I am accordingly compiling and studying historical data and case studies. As a Panel member, I humbly hope to offer a fresh perspective on monetary policy and the financial system.
Naoko Nemoto
Managing Director, Financial Institutions Ratings, Standard & Poor's
Field: Financial System, Financial Institution
After eight years spent with the Bank of Japan conducting industrial and financial research, I moved to rating agency Standard & Poor's, where I analyzed the creditworthiness of financial institutions. I had many opportunities to meet with both domestic and overseas institutional investors and financial institutions, and I hope to be able to make use of that experience here. I am very interested in discussing what the central bank's role should be and how to ensure both market functions and financial system stability amid uncertain economic trends, rising government debt issuance, and a fragile financial system. I think we also need to examine the issues of global policy coordination and how to deal with problems and situations specific to individual countries.
Yuri Okina
Director, Research Department, Japan Research Institute
Field: Financial systems, prudential policy, financial markets
After leaving the Bank of Japan to become a private economist, I have continued to conduct research focused mainly on financial regulation and prudential policy to ensure financial system stability. My interests include the relationship between prudential policy and central banks and how financial markets will be affected by the international regulatory tightening that ensued from the 2008 financial crisis.
Hajime Takata
Managing Executive Officer and Chief Economist, Mizuho Research Institute
Field: Government Bond Market, Monetary Policy
I would like to look at monetary policy from the perspective of the financial markets, in the bond market and at financial institutions in particular. Overseas and domestic observers have very different views on the economy and financial sector, and recently there has also been a growing disparity with the views of academics. It is my hope that this panel will serve as a bridge to span this divide.
Kazuto Uchida
Executive Officer and General Manager, Treasury and Investment Division Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
Field: Economic and Financial Research, Money Market, ALM
My responsibilities for the last 22 years have included financial and economic research in Japan and overseas, market analysis, asset-liability management, and yen fund operations. As we enter a truly global era and a period of major change for the financial sector, what roles should be played by the financial markets, central banks, and financial institutions? How should we address structural deflation and the risk of fiscal collapse? I hope to engage in a wide-ranging discussion from the perspective of both an economist and a financial practitioner.
Toshiaki Watanabe
Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
Field: Finance, Econometrics
I am engaged in quantitative analysis of the financial sector and the macroeconomy. In terms of finance, I hope to learn from market practitioners exactly how credit derivatives, singled out as one of the causes of the financial crisis, are traded and use that information to come up with better trading systems and regulatory frameworks. As for the macroeconomy, I am engaged in research on variable parameter VaR models and DSGE models with a zero-interest-rate bound, and I would like to use those models to clarify the impact of quantitative easing and time commitment policies.
Noriyuki Yanagawa
Professor, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo
Field: Contract Theory, Financial Contracts
I think the panel's mission is to engage in thorough discussion of a broad range of monetary policy related issues. Personally, I am interested in the impact of financial system structure on the choice of monetary policy tools and their effectiveness. I think many would like to see the panel gather a wide variety of data related to monetary policy and to communicate that information to society as a whole. While this is an area that requires expertise, it is also one in which there is strong public interest, and I hope to initiate discussion on a variety of subjects.