The 2023 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings

In Conversation with José Viñals

Resetting Globalisation in an Era of Uncertainty

Saturday, 15 October 2022

7:30AM – 9:15AM EDT

In person at The Ritz-Carlton Washington DC

Whilst some countries and regions in the world have just started to recover from the pandemic, we have also entered into an era of renewed turbulence: from energy and food shortages, record inflation, to the war in Ukraine contributing to further disruptions in global supply chains. Just recently, the IMF projected the slowing down of the global economy, and there is talk of an impending recession. This, coupled with the continued effects from climate change provides a relatively bleak backdrop to the meetings this year.

Our Group Chairman José Viñals will speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning Historian, Journalist and Commentator Anne Applebaum, and Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Jeremy Siegel, about their views on current macro economics, financial markets and geopolitics, with some nuggets of opportunity and positivity.

Sovereign-Investor Forum

Thursday, 13 October 2022

7:30AM – 6:30PM EDT

In person at The Ritz-Carlton Washington DC

The Sovereign-Investor Forum is our signature event that connects sovereign issuers from emerging markets within our footprint, with our global fixed income investor base.

The Forum offers sovereigns and investors an opportunity to join a conversation on the resilience of emerging markets, on the challenges they face, on the dynamics which are at play.

The Power of Collective Action

The Role of the Financial Industry in Transitioning the World to Net Zero

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

5.30pm SGT/10.30am BST
4pm EDT

Virtual discussion, 1 hour

The recent climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in August was damning, calling it a “code red for humanity”. Humanity, the report states, is to be blamed for the unprecedented climate emergency, and the finance industry is not moving quickly enough.

As we are aware, the finance industry alone cannot solve this issue. There needs to be fundamental shifts in economic, finance and policy models to enable drastic and meaningful changes that are urgently needed. We will need collective action in both the private and public sectors if we are going help the globe transition to net zero.

This is why alliances like the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ) could be a game changer.

This panel, with representatives of the GFANZ alliances, will examine the role of the financial industry in driving the net zero agenda and how these alliances are mobilising to bring about real change in the industry.

There will be a special address from Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, Prime Minister Johnson’s Finance Adviser for COP26 and Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist, will be moderating the panel session with speakers Amanda Blanc, Group CEO, Aviva Plc, Bill Winters, Group CEO of Standard Chartered and Oliver Bäte, Group CEO, Allianz SE.

In Conversation with José Viñals

The New Social Contract: Standing for a Just Transition

Thursday, 14 October 2021

5.30pm SGT/10.30am BST
4pm EDT

Virtual Discussion, 1 hour

A year on from our first virtual IMF Breakfast last year, we are still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. While some countries struggle with second and third waves of the virus, most are turning to the process of reopening and drawing lessons from the past months.

This year, our topic on “The New Social Contract: Standing for a Just Transition” will aim to tackle questions around the roles that individuals, corporations and governments can play in promoting equitable development as part of the “ESG” scorecards. As the global economy recovers, what can we do to spread growth evenly across all parts of society, and both in developed and emerging economies? With businesses, policymakers and investors joining the pledge towards accelerating net zero, how can we ensure that global capital is diverted equitably to emerging markets that are most at risk of climate change?

José will be joined by Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, both of whom have had extraordinary years of experience in the policy and economic fields and are uniquely qualified to discuss the global challenges and how public and private organisations can come together to effect real change. In this context of transition and change, we look forward to sharing our vision for a greener and just recovery, one that balances both economic growth and climate change, while ensuring that individuals in society are equipped for this transition.

Sovereign-Investor Forum

12 – 13 October 2021
12 PM – 7PM BST

The Sovereign-Investor Forum is our signature event that connects sovereign issuers from emerging markets within our footprint, with our global fixed income investor base.

The Forum offers sovereigns and investors an opportunity to join a conversation on the resilience of emerging markets, on the challenges they face, on the dynamics which are at play.

Building on our positive response from last year’s event, the 2021 event will look to have more than 10 sovereigns present country updates to more than 200 investors over two days.

In Conversation with José Viñals

13 October 2020

Jose discussed the topic of The New Social Contract : When Profits Need Purpose, with Ambassador Samantha Power, former US Ambassador to the UN and Professor Raghuram Rajan, Former Governor of the Central Bank of India. They spoke about  the massive step change that both the public and the private sectors have to undertake in order to ensure a just and sustainable recovery. The pandemic has offered us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform and change the trajectory that we were headed for pre-pandemic, and to address some of our current societal and environmental threats.

Sovereign-Investor Forum

14 – 15 October 2020
12 PM – 7PM BST

The Sovereign-Investor Forum is our signature event that looks to connect sovereign issuers from emerging markets within our footprint, with our global fixed income investor base.

The Forum offers sovereigns and investors an opportunity to join a conversation on the resilience of emerging markets, on the challenges they face, on the dynamics which are at play.

More than 10 sovereigns presented country updates to more than 200 investors over two days.

Washington DC, USA

14 – 20 October 2019

On the sidelines of IMF, Standard Chartered hosted several client engagement initiatives including a breakfast session hosted by José Viñals, our Group Chairman. Titled “In Conversation With José Viñals”, the session featured Megan Smith, CEO of Shift7 and Third Chief Technology Officer of the United States (2014 – 2017) where she discussed the state of technological disruption faced by governments and the world of finance and how she sees public and private sectors working together to creatively address our most significant challenges.

Megan also shared her personal perspectives on gender diversity, especially as a successful woman in STEM.

Karby Leggett, Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organisations, also hosted a cocktail reception and a Q&A session with Megan Smith for clients from the Public Sector and Development Organisations.

In Conversation with José Viñals

Megan Smith, CEO of Shift7 and Third Chief Technology Officer of the United States (2014-2017) sat down with José Viñals, our Group Chairman, to share her insights on how the finance industry can utilize technology to address the world’s challenges