June 24, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA – The United Nations Council on Trade and Development (“UNCTAD”), convened UNCTAD member States at its first public symposium to provide a forum to discuss “The global economic crisis and development – the way forward.” Organized in collaboration with the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service and with other partner organizations, the Symposium provided a platform for people and organizations whose perspectives have not been heard enough in the debate on the causes and effects of the current global financial turmoil, and to debate what policy changes are needed to avoid such a crisis in the future.
Mr. Ron Nechemia is the founding father of private sector development, the founder and Chairman of the Board ofEurOrient Financial Group, and a permanent representative to the United Nations, responded to UNCTAD’s call for action regarding “inputs” to the forthcoming session with the submission of a White Paper, “Asset Securitization: Revolution, Evolution, Devolution. The Rise and fall of the Most Important Financial Instrument in Banking.” The paper addressed one of the key topics debated at the 18-19 May 2009 symposium, that included:
• The global economic crisis – its causes and its multiple impacts;
• Assessing existing responses to the crisis at the international, regional and national levels – limitations and best practices; and
• Proposals for the way forward – obstacles and opportunities.
The United Nations Council on Trade and Development Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi said "It is imperative that we understand the crisis in all its dimensions and have the concerted effort of all the different players if we are to ease the effects and protect the innocent bystanders."
More than 360 representatives from civil society, the private sector, labour organizations, academia and research institutes, as well as parliamentarians and member States, joined UNCTAD, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs（DESA) to discuss the impacts of the crisis, the responses, and ways forward.
A scholar, author and widely regarded international political economist and a development banker who has presented his ideas and forward thinking strategies on global finance at the highest levels of both business and government, Mr. Nechemia is recognized as a foreign financial expert by the State Administration of Foreign Experts, and the People’s Republic Of China among many other foreign governments. He has been invited to advise and lecture on behalf of governments such as the United States of America, Republic of the Philippines, the People's Republic of China, South Korea, and the State of California Department of Energy, to name a few.
Highlights of Mr. Nechemia’s White Paper Submission on Asset Securitization
Mr. Nechemia’s work addresses the global financial crisis by providing a historical account of the myriad factors that collided like the “perfect storm” to throw the world into economic calamity. Mr. Nechemia explains the creation and evolution of the-then revolutionary Asset Securitization product and the various permutations the product morphed into since first being introduced into the United States banking and credit system in the 1970s. He argues how it enabled the unprecedented growth of markets in both the U.S. and abroad, set new benchmark standards of innovation and productivity, credit enhancement and risk analysis, but in the end, left unchecked and to open market devices, is what he suggests, contributed greatly to the U.S. financial collapse.
Mr. Nechemia’s work explains how the recent experience in the subprime market illustrates the costs and benefits of financial innovation in an environment of shifting asset price dynamics. Furthermore, asset securitization made the financial system more resilient at the expense of undermining the effectiveness of consumer protection regulation. In recent months, lending standards have tightened and ratings models are being strengthened, but subprime credit is still readily available—at a price.
Among many clear, concise and coherent recommendations for improvements to the world’s financial architecture, he offers the following: “Today, many measures are required to repair what has become a badly damaged international financial system and proven dysfunctional financial architecture. For example, when considering future policy changes, regulators and lawmakers need to balance carefully the need to limit future predatory lending excesses, while preserving a model that has successfully dispersed losses from higher-risk mortgages away from the banking system and maintaining the ability of stretched but viable subprime borrowers to refinance when confronted with reset payment consumer protection in an originate-to-securitize financial system.”
The Symposium was chaired by Mr. Dian Triansyah Djani, President of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board, and was opened by the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi. The outcome of the two-day gathering was forwarded to the President of the United Nations General Assembly and to the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, scheduled for the June 24 - 26 in New York. The symposium concluded with a call for an inclusive response to the global economic downturn that will reform the international financial system, protect developing countries and the poor, and supply funding and effort to maintain and create jobs in the face of the global economic crisis. Summary of the discussions.
About EurOrient
EurOrient Financial Group is a private sector global development finance institution accredited financial institution byUnited Nations General Assembly on Financing for Development. The mission of the EurOrient Financial Group is to support the economic and social development efforts of the less developed countries as they, in particular, seek to achieve the Millennium Development Goals ("MDGs").
The EurOrient's principal objective is to reducing poverty and promoting sustainable economic growth. EurOrient invests in projects and programs that promote social development, build human capacities, and address host government priorities for investments in physical infrastructure that promote and enhance social development. These projects include roads, transportation and communication systems, water, sanitation and other types of investments with social development outcomes such as improved quality of life and increased human knowledge and skills.
EurOrient at Glance
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California
Website: www.eurorient.org
CEO: Mr. Ron Nechemia
CONTACT WITH EURORIENT FINANCIAL GROUP EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Email: media.center@eurorient.org
