The inaugural Gong Talks, a new initiative of UOW Local, was launched (2 May 2023) with leading financial experts, including former Federal Speaker and Member for Cunningham Professor the Hon Stephen Martin AO, addressing recent volatility in the banking sector - if we are facing another Global Financial Crisis, is my bank secure?
Professor Martin is the Chairman of the Bank of China and has had a career spanning academia, and business and economic development. He was joined by banking and finance experts and for a panel discussion and Q&A, moderated by UOW Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and President (Innovation, Enterprise and External Relations) Professor Alex Frino.
Discussion focussed on financial crises, the recent collapse of US banks and subsequent takeovers, rising interest rates, leading to findings of the Hayne Royal Commission and as a result improvements to corporate governance.
Professor Martin said he understands why people are concerned about bank failures, “people are right to be concerned about bank failures in the Northern Hemisphere, but fortunately Australian governments and our financial regulators have put rules in place that mean our banks are strong, well-capitalised and profitable.”
“The massive failure of regulators in the United States and Europe were the culprits in the Global Financial Crisis. However, now the challenge facing consumers and the banking sector is the need to be more vigilant in this era of breaches in cybersecurity.”
UOW Local Manager Tania Brown said Gong Talks provided an opportunity to bring local community together with subject-matter experts and Faculty staff to share and discuss topical issues of relevance to the community.
“We see UOW as an anchor institution of the Illawarra and through UOW Local we hope to provide more opportunities for community members to learn more about the University and increase engagement on a range of levels,” Ms Brown said.
“The recent volatility in the banking sector with the collapse of two institutions, and rising concerns about security of Australian financial institutions provided a worthy and entertaining topic for our first Gong Talk.”
The next Gong Talk, to be held in July, will look at ChatGPT and the rise of AI bots.