AKA investors' Meeting 2014

2007 again - the global economy in a repetitive loop?

Business model, first-half figures and business outlook for AKA Ausfuhrkredit-Gesellschaft mbH 

After a reception on the rooftop terrace and a few welcome words, Rüdiger Eggert and Marck Wengrzik, AKA’s management team, presented the latest first-half figures and explained how AKA was living up to its commitment to solidity and stability despite the volatile business environment.

"The financial crisis had a delayed effect on AKA. Thus, our business and earnings increased in 2008, whereas in 2009 we deliberately initially scaled back our business activities."

Management is confident about the Bank’s business performance in 2014. Despite the growing regulatory requirements, applications held steady at a stable level. The forecast for the return on equity at the end of the year and full-year operating profit is encouraging. To establish AKA as a European trade finance expert, activities with European credit insurance agencies are to be expanded and business in short-term finance with non-shareholders stepped up.

You can download the presentation here.

Keynote “2007 again – the global economy in a repetitive loop?”

Prof. Marcel Fratzscher

The ensuing keynote speech was held by Prof. Marcel Fratzscher, an economist and chairman of the German Institute of Economic Research as well as Professor of Macroeconomics and Finance at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In reference to the topic of the event “2007 again - the global economy in a repetitive loop?”, he discussed the policies currently being pursued by the European Central Bank and considered the probability of a further crisis occurring.

“Germany is not investing enough.” 

Professor Fratzscher said that low investment was Germany’s Achilles heel in terms of economic policy and went on to describe possible scenarios for the future.

Discussion on “2007 again - the global economy in a repetitive loop?”

Moderation: Andreas Scholz

A further highlight of the day was the discussion that followed the presentation. Here, the moderator, Andreas Scholz, a long-standing business journalist for Bloomberg TV, N24 and DAF, proved very adept at keeping the panel participants – Dr. Jürgen Pfister, former chief economist at Bayerische Landesbank, Rüdiger Eggert and Prof. Marcel Fratzscher – on the ball.

"It was the perfect topic at precisely the right time, coming as it did shortly after another historic ECB council meeting and one day before the chairman of the DIW in Berlin officially presented his views to a broad public. AKA was not only closer but also quicker." 
Andreas Scholz, moderator

“Playing with fire – how dangerous is it?” 

Comparisons between 2007 and the present, questions as to the viability of current monetary policies, the expected impact on the real economy of the substantial cut in interest rates and the idea of using fiscal policy to achieve more general goals: all these aspects triggered a lively discussion which culminated in the answer to the question posed by the presentation: the panel participants do not think that there will be a repetition of the crisis. This is because market participants’ awareness of the risks of measuring assets without reference to the market is substantially more pronounced and the responsible managers are focusing far more keenly on securing liquidity. Moreover, the European banks have cleaned up their portfolios in some cases and are far better capitalised.

Conclusion and get-together 

During the ensuing get-together, the guests had an opportunity of discussing these issues informally, of establishing contacts and of talking to AKA’s management. The guests were given an unusual parting gift: a boomerang! Why? Just as the ability to throw this projectile properly requires a great deal of precision, so too is a stable standing and farsightedness necessary in the financial markets to secure investments reliably and to achieve economic success.