In August 2024, Dirk A. Zetzsche, Full Professor in Financial Law and Chairholder of the ADA Chair in Financial Law (Inclusive Finance), accepted two nominations to serve on advisory groups for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) which is hosted by the European Central Bank (ECB). Prof. Zetzsche, whose research interests focus heavily on both the law and regulation of inclusive finance, as well as the emergence of fintech and more specifically cryptoassets, will work together with other industry and academic experts to inform and guide decision-making.
At the IMF, Prof. Zetzsche will join the Financial Access Survey Advisory Group. The Group provides strategic advice to the IMF on how to measure financial inclusion, a key policy concern among regulators focusing on financial inclusion today. Aspects include the scope and coverage of the Financial Access Survey data collection, its methodology, usage, and outreach. The group’s current focus is on finding ways to accurately measure the gender gap of financial inclusion through the analysis of sex-disaggregated data.
This initiative is generously endorsed by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). Professor Zetzsche’s nomination was supported by the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance as well as the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
Prof. Zetzsche will also join the Crypto-Assets Task Force which advises the European Systemic Risk Board which is hosted by the European Central Bank. This internal task force was initially established “to develop a common understanding of crypto-assets and assess their potential impact on some of its core areas of responsibility: monetary policy, financial stability, payments and market infrastructures” (European Central Bank, 2019). Notably, the task force provides insight into the systemic risk inherent in crypto-assets and advises on potential regulatory measures.
“These two appointments are an enormous opportunity to link research, policy decisions and practice – to ensure high impact of our research results on the top European and World level, to the benefit of societies and people,” commented Prof. Zetzsche.”The IMF appointment provides a unique chance to improve how financial inclusion is currently measured, while the ESRB task force allows to put the knowledge on crypto-assets to practical use which I have gathered over the last decade and, most recently, in my capacity as Co-Principal Investigator of the Luxembourg National Centre of Excellence in Research on Financial Technologies.”