What do you do when an economy is struggling? If you’re a policymaker, a politician, or a central banker, you develop a stimulus package. That’s the term we examine in today’s episode. It’s the inside story of one of the biggest stimulus packages in history, to find out how it was set up, how it worked and what kind of results it got. The inside story of the European Fund for Strategic Investments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when an economy is struggling? If you’re a policymaker, a politician, or a central banker, you develop a stimulus package. That’s the term we examine in today’s episode. It’s the inside story of one of the biggest stimulus packages in history, to find out how it was set up, how it worked and what kind of results it got. The inside story of the European Fund for Strategic Investments. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Inside the EU’s massive stimulus package

When we speak of the virtual world and storing things in ‘the cloud’, we seldom stop to realize that our digital climate impact is not virtual at all Many people see digitalisation as this magical pixie dust that Tinker Bell sprinkles on old industries to make them all environmentally friendly. Stop printing newspapers and get your news online and suddenly your environmental footprint is down to zero, right?Wrong.In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast we learn:·        What is the climate impact of the digital sector?·        What is Jevon’s paradox?·        What is the digital sector doing to clean up its act?·        That even when digital services use renewable energy, it might be using up renewable energy that otherwise might be used by more critical sources. So we should hold off on all those cat videos·        How can you personally curtail the CO2 emissions of our own use of technology?My guests on this episode are the European Investment Bank’s head of division for digital infrastructure Harald Gruber and risk manager Shirley Rizk. They are but two of the many experts at the EU bank who are helping me challenge various rumours, myths, and misconceptions that we are trying to overturn on this series of podcasts.Each episode features one ‘monster under the bed’ something that we are scared of, or mistakenly believe to be true. Check out our episodes on urbanisation, healthcare, education and much more.Look up Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app, and click ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Follow’. This way you can sleep soundly without worrying about missing any episodes – and during the night Tinker Bell will sprinkle a new episodes into your phone for you!Also, please rate and review us, and give us feedback – I’m @AllarTankler on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we speak of the virtual world and storing things in ‘the cloud’, we seldom stop to realize that our digital climate impact is not virtual at all Many people see digitalisation as this magical pixie dust that Tinker Bell sprinkles on old industries to make them all environmentally friendly. Stop printing newspapers and get your news online and suddenly your environmental footprint is down to zero, right?Wrong.In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast we learn:·        What is the climate impact of the digital sector?·        What is Jevon’s paradox?·        What is the digital sector doing to clean up its act?·        That even when digital services use renewable energy, it might be using up renewable energy that otherwise might be used by more critical sources. So we should hold off on all those cat videos·        How can you personally curtail the CO2 emissions of our own use of technology?My guests on this episode are the European Investment Bank’s head of division for digital infrastructure Harald Gruber and risk manager Shirley Rizk. They are but two of the many experts at the EU bank who are helping me challenge various rumours, myths, and misconceptions that we are trying to overturn on this series of podcasts.Each episode features one ‘monster under the bed’ something that we are scared of, or mistakenly believe to be true. Check out our episodes on urbanisation, healthcare, education and much more.Look up Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app, and click ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Follow’. This way you can sleep soundly without worrying about missing any episodes – and during the night Tinker Bell will sprinkle a new episodes into your phone for you!Also, please rate and review us, and give us feedback – I’m <a href="http://www.twitter.com/allartankler" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a> on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The digital pixie dust clean-up

In schools and in the workplace disability training makes for better inclusion—and lets everyone draw on the strengths of people who overcame difficulties most of us never facedIs disability a state of mind? According to Bebe Vio, the young Italian Paralympic champion, you don’t need arms and legs to reach your goals. However, disability and diversity can come in many different forms—they can even be invisible. How can you help create an inclusive society?In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast you’ll find out:·        What is social diversity, diversity in the workplace, and diversity benefits·        Why inclusion should start at school·        How culture and education can build equality·        Where jobs and disability come togetherAt the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we care about diversity and inclusion. In this episode, we meet kids, men and women, with and without disabilities. All together they challenge our assumptions and prejudices.In each episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast, we fight one myth in society and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about diversity and inclusion in particular, contact me @Anto4EIB Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In schools and in the workplace disability training makes for better inclusion—and lets everyone draw on the strengths of people who overcame difficulties most of us never facedIs disability a state of mind? According to Bebe Vio, the young Italian Paralympic champion, you don’t need arms and legs to reach your goals. However, disability and diversity can come in many different forms—they can even be invisible. How can you help create an inclusive society?In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast you’ll find out:·        What is social diversity, diversity in the workplace, and diversity benefits·        Why inclusion should start at school·        How culture and education can build equality·        Where jobs and disability come togetherAt the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we care about diversity and inclusion. In this episode, we meet kids, men and women, with and without disabilities. All together they challenge our assumptions and prejudices.In each episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast, we fight one myth in society and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/allartankler" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. If you’ve got something to say about diversity and inclusion in particular, contact me @Anto4EIB Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Do you need arms and legs?

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the idea that the EU is something to scare people with, and the myth that it costs us too muchIn the last few years, the EU budget has become a major topic of public discourse – whether in the media, or in our neighbourhood cafes. Something that once felt so remote has gone mainstream.A lot of that is due to Brexit, and a lot of the conversations have had to do with specifically how much the European Union costs us, and our countries. So we decided to figure out whether there’s any truth in the often-heard exclamations that the EU costs us too much.In this episode you’ll find out (without a lot of math or statistics):·        What is the EU budget? How is it decided, collected and spent? How big is it?·        How much does each European contribute to the EU budget?·        Why do some countries pay more into the EU budget than others do?·        What is cohesion?·        Why do people believe some of the myths about the EU floating around, and how can we use a moment of crisis and turn it into an opportunity?At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, who can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. In this episode you will hear our Vice-President Alexander Stubb, as well as Mariusz Krukowski, the European Investment Bank’s senior policy adviser who works on EU budget issues and Brexit, among other things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. This episode contains audio content provided by the Audiovisual service of the European Commission (©European Union, 2013). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the idea that the EU is something to scare people with, and the myth that it costs us too muchIn the last few years, the EU budget has become a major topic of public discourse – whether in the media, or in our neighbourhood cafes. Something that once felt so remote has gone mainstream.A lot of that is due to Brexit, and a lot of the conversations have had to do with specifically how much the European Union costs us, and our countries. So we decided to figure out whether there’s any truth in the often-heard exclamations that the EU costs us too much.In this episode you’ll find out (without a lot of math or statistics):·        What is the EU budget? How is it decided, collected and spent? How big is it?·        How much does each European contribute to the EU budget?·        Why do some countries pay more into the EU budget than others do?·        What is cohesion?·        Why do people believe some of the myths about the EU floating around, and how can we use a moment of crisis and turn it into an opportunity?At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, who can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. In this episode you will hear our Vice-President Alexander Stubb, as well as Mariusz Krukowski, the European Investment Bank’s senior policy adviser who works on EU budget issues and Brexit, among other things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/allartankler" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. This episode contains audio content provided by the Audiovisual service of the European Commission (©European Union, 2013). Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Is the EU a waste of money?

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the ‘you are what you know’ education myth and discover that, in fact, you are the things you know how to doIn the grim Victorian building where I went to school, we learned everything by rote. It worked out okay for me. But the focus at the school my kids attend doesn’t seem to be on cramming knowledge into their heads, and sometimes I wonder if that’s bad for them.So I decided to examine the ideas I had about schooling. Maybe the things I thought made for good learning were actually education myths that no longer apply in the digital age. With the help of the education experts at the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, I decided to find out.In this episode you’ll find out:·        What are competencies? Competencies are the things you know how to do, rather than the things you know (like public speaking or putting together a presentation)·        That kids are now focused on learning vs memorization, or to put it another way understanding vs memorizing. You could say it means learning life skills vs facts.·        that when you have to change career (and even sometimes when you don’t) you need upskilling. What is upskilling? Upskilling is often retraining to bring you skills and competencies in line with what employers need in a marketplace that’s increasingly digital·        that schools are preparing kids for the changes digitalisation is making to old ideas about careers·        how an EU programme makes education fairer and more socially inclusive.At the European Investment Bank Group, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, just like the education specialists in this episode. They can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation.We started the Monster Under the Bed podcast to examine these myths. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about education in particular, let me know @EIBMatt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the ‘you are what you know’ education myth and discover that, in fact, you are the things you know how to doIn the grim Victorian building where I went to school, we learned everything by rote. It worked out okay for me. But the focus at the school my kids attend doesn’t seem to be on cramming knowledge into their heads, and sometimes I wonder if that’s bad for them.So I decided to examine the ideas I had about schooling. Maybe the things I thought made for good learning were actually education myths that no longer apply in the digital age. With the help of the education experts at the <a href="https://www.eib.org/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a>, the EU bank, I decided to find out.In this episode you’ll find out:·        What are competencies? Competencies are the things you know how to do, rather than the things you know (like public speaking or putting together a presentation)·        That kids are now focused on learning vs memorization, or to put it another way understanding vs memorizing. You could say it means learning life skills vs facts.·        that when you have to change career (and even sometimes when you don’t) you need upskilling. What is upskilling? Upskilling is often retraining to bring you skills and competencies in line with what employers need in a marketplace that’s increasingly digital·        that schools are preparing kids for the changes digitalisation is making to old ideas about careers·        how an <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">EU programme</a> makes education fairer and more socially inclusive.At the European Investment Bank Group, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, just like the education specialists in this episode. They can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation.We started the Monster Under the Bed podcast to examine these myths. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/allartankler" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. If you’ve got something to say about education in particular, let me know <a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Forget careers. What are your competencies?

Here’s why you should be even more scared of cybercrime and the rising cost of cybercrime preventionYou probably think that if you have the latest software on your computer and a strong IT department at work, you’re more or less safe from cyberattacks. Boy, are you wrong.This myth is costing businesses a lot of money and causing people a lot of harm in lost data and privacy. You definitely should not rely only on software updates or the IT department to protect you from hackers. This episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast lays out exactly what you need to do to stay as safe as possible.In this episode you’ll find out:·        Why each one of us must take responsibility for cybersecurity·        Why an IT department can’t prevent hacking all the time·        Why cybercrime is getting worse and what are the projected losses. (One of our experts calls it “a shadow industry that is really spending time trying to defraud people.”)·        How adults and children can arm themselves for cyberattacks·        What a 10-year-old does when his computer is hackedAt the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, including the cybercrime specialists in this episode. They challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation.The Monster Under the Bed podcast examines these myths. In each episode, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about cybercrime in particular, let me know @EIBChris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here’s why you should be even more scared of cybercrime and the rising cost of cybercrime preventionYou probably think that if you have the latest software on your computer and a strong IT department at work, you’re more or less safe from cyberattacks. Boy, are you wrong.This myth is costing businesses a lot of money and causing people a lot of harm in lost data and privacy. You definitely should not rely only on software updates or the IT department to protect you from hackers. This episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast lays out exactly what you need to do to stay as safe as possible.In this episode you’ll find out:·        Why each one of us must take responsibility for cybersecurity·        Why an IT department can’t prevent hacking all the time·        Why cybercrime is getting worse and what are the projected losses. (One of our experts calls it “a shadow industry that is really spending time trying to defraud people.”)·        How adults and children can arm themselves for cyberattacks·        What a 10-year-old does when his computer is hackedAt the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, including the cybercrime specialists in this episode. They challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation.The Monster Under the Bed podcast examines these myths. In each episode, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things.So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well.Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/allartankler" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. If you’ve got something to say about cybercrime in particular, let me know <a href="https://twitter.com/EIBChris" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBChris</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

A shadow industry of fraud

Forget the dystopian images of overcrowded, polluting cities. When urban life is well-planned and well-managed it’s better for the environment than country living.We all know the dystopian image of city life—smog, roads jammed with traffic, high prices and noise. Listen to this installment of our myth-busting show to find out:·        Where did cities come from? What were the instincts that first drove us to live close together? And are these reasons still valid today?·        Where did cities mess up? (Where did the dystopian image of cities as places with a low quality of life come from?)·        What is mixed planning and is it an entirely good thing? (No mixed reviews at all!)·        How country living is expensive for society and creates social isolation.·        Why urban sprawl is the real monster we should fear—not life in well-planned, well-managed, compact towns.·        And how deserting the countryside can actually be a boon for nature.At the European Investment Bank, we have all kinds of experts who can challenge the assumptions, notions and prejudices we all have about anything from climate to cybercrime, and from healthcare to education.On this episode, our guests are Brendan McDonagh from the European Investment Advisory Hub, a partnership between the EIB and the European Commission, EIB’s senior urban development specialist Grzegorz Gajda, and Stefanie Lindenberg, coordinator for the Natural Capital Finance Facility at the EIB – and some random people we approached in Luxembourg to find out how they feel about living in the city, or whether they’d rather be anywhere else.All throughout the episodes we’ll be tackling those myths and fears to identify people and projects that are taking a more rational approach—which is good for our economy and our society.Talking of rational, it makes sense to subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. This way you won’t miss any episodes. We’re also very grateful if you rate and review us – that helps others find the podcast. And you can suggest myths to bust and monsters to slay by tagging me on Twitter – I’m @AllarTankler. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forget the dystopian images of overcrowded, polluting cities. When urban life is well-planned and well-managed it’s better for the environment than country living.We all know the dystopian image of city life—smog, roads jammed with traffic, high prices and noise. Listen to this installment of our myth-busting show to find out:·        Where did cities come from? What were the instincts that first drove us to live close together? And are these reasons still valid today?·        Where did cities mess up? (Where did the dystopian image of cities as places with a low quality of life come from?)·        What is mixed planning and is it an entirely good thing? (No mixed reviews at all!)·        How country living is expensive for society and creates social isolation.·        Why urban sprawl is the real monster we should fear—not life in well-planned, well-managed, compact towns.·        And how deserting the countryside can actually be a boon for nature.At the European Investment Bank, we have all kinds of experts who can challenge the assumptions, notions and prejudices we all have about anything from climate to cybercrime, and from healthcare to education.On this episode, our guests are Brendan McDonagh from the European Investment Advisory Hub, a partnership between the EIB and the European Commission, EIB’s senior urban development specialist Grzegorz Gajda, and Stefanie Lindenberg, coordinator for the Natural Capital Finance Facility at the EIB – and some random people we approached in Luxembourg to find out how they feel about living in the city, or whether they’d rather be anywhere else.All throughout the episodes we’ll be tackling those myths and fears to identify people and projects that are taking a more rational approach—which is good for our economy and our society.Talking of rational, it makes sense to subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. This way you won’t miss any episodes. We’re also very grateful if you rate and review us – that helps others find the podcast. And you can suggest myths to bust and monsters to slay by tagging me on Twitter – I’m <a href="http://www.twitter.com/allartankler" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The countryside is for the birds

‘Monster Under the Bed’ is a new season of podcasts by the European Investment Bank that tackles myths and prejudices we all have about anything from health care to cybercrime, and from urban planning to education.In this episode we talk about how advances in medicine and squeezed budgets are forcing countries to rethink health care.For most of us, hospitals conjure up some very specific images: nurses and doctors running around, fancy machinery beeping away, somebody yelling “STAT!” While hospitals are chaotic places, they are also strangely reassuring. No matter how you are injured or what strange illness you’ve contracted, going to the nearby hospital can make you better. But maybe you don’t need a hospital after all. Did you know:-      Hospitals are an extremely expensive way to treat people-      Technology has made many surgeries less invasive, so that we don’t need to spend as much time in a hospital bed-      Patients in hospitals are often overtreated or required to stay longer than necessary-      Germany has a higher number of hospital beds than Spain, but the Spanish system is one of the world’s best-      People with chronic health issues are best treated outside of a hospital setting-      20% of all health spending is wasted on ineffective careOur guests are Tunde Szabo and Dana Burduja from the European Investment Bank’s Life Sciences division. They talk about how many countries actually need to close hospitals, or at least slim them down, to free up resources for other, more effective forms of care.Subscribe and rate us! This way you won’t miss any episodes. And give us feedback via @AllarTankler or Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Monster Under the Bed’ is a new season of podcasts by the European Investment Bank that tackles myths and prejudices we all have about anything from health care to cybercrime, and from urban planning to education.In this episode we talk about how advances in medicine and squeezed budgets are forcing countries to rethink health care.For most of us, hospitals conjure up some very specific images: nurses and doctors running around, fancy machinery beeping away, somebody yelling “STAT!” While hospitals are chaotic places, they are also strangely reassuring. No matter how you are injured or what strange illness you’ve contracted, going to the nearby hospital can make you better. But maybe you don’t need a hospital after all. Did you know:-      Hospitals are an extremely expensive way to treat people-      Technology has made many surgeries less invasive, so that we don’t need to spend as much time in a hospital bed-      Patients in hospitals are often overtreated or required to stay longer than necessary-      Germany has a higher number of hospital beds than Spain, but the Spanish system is one of the world’s best-      People with chronic health issues are best treated outside of a hospital setting-      20% of all health spending is wasted on ineffective careOur guests are Tunde Szabo and Dana Burduja from the European Investment Bank’s Life Sciences division. They talk about how many countries actually need to close hospitals, or at least slim them down, to free up resources for other, more effective forms of care.Subscribe and rate us! This way you won’t miss any episodes. And give us feedback via @AllarTankler or Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Should your hospital die?

Listen to our new podcast - Monster Under the Bed! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to our new podcast - <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/monster-under-the-bed/id1479853349" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Monster Under the Bed</a>! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Introducing Monster Under the Bed

A big part of finance (and life) is about trying to figure out what will happen in the future. Will the market go up? Will interest rates drop? Take a look into the future with an exclusive sneak peak at our new podcast Future Europe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big part of finance (and life) is about trying to figure out what will happen in the future. Will the market go up? Will interest rates drop? Take a look into the future with an exclusive sneak peak at our new podcast Future Europe.  Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Introducing Future Europe

Allar and Matt work for the EU bank. But they’re not bankers. So they often find themselves wondering just what their super-smart banker colleagues are talking about. Each week they sit down with experts from the European Investment Bank and make them explain words, phrases and concepts frequently used in economics and finance in a way that's understandable, whether you’re a student, a citizen, or a business owner. No jargon, no acronyms--but just about as much fun as a finance podcast can be. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allar and Matt work for the EU bank. But they’re not bankers. So they often find themselves wondering just what their super-smart banker colleagues are talking about. Each week they sit down with experts from the European Investment Bank and make them explain words, phrases and concepts frequently used in economics and finance in a way that's understandable, whether you’re a student, a citizen, or a business owner. No jargon, no acronyms--but just about as much fun as a finance podcast can be. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

A Dictionary of Finance

The corporate balance sheet explained—from the reason companies make one, down to the obscure terms that appear on it. If you’ve ever mixed up your left and right, you could just as easily mix up your assets and liabilities. One of them goes on the left-hand side of the balance sheet, while the other goes on the right. Which one goes where?Okay, the assets are on the left. But you’ll find this and many other details of the corporate balance sheet explained in this week’s podcast.Marius Cara, who works in the Finance Directorate of the European Investment Bank, explains the balance sheet and the terms you’ll find on it. That includes:Cash accounting, where you wait until the money comes in before recording the transactionAccruals accounting, which makes it possible for you to record a transaction as soon as you know the money will be paid to you, but before you receive the cashAccounts receivable, which are assets because they are things you’re expecting to receiveAccounts payable, which are things you’ll have to pay and are therefore liabilities.Get lots of little tips from Marius, who has even been an auditor in a war zone. For example, how do you pronounce GAAP? The answer is, just like the word “gap.” It stands for the US accounting rules called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. So we’ve already saved you the embarrassment of calling them “gaap rules,” as if you were some kind of bleating lamb. You’re welcome.On the podcast, you’ll also discover that Allar is an asset. (That’s not because of his incisive questioning or his charming smile. It’s just because he shows up for work here at the European Investment Bank. For all companies, employees are recorded as assets.)Get new episodes like this every week, when you subscribe to A Dictionary of Finance in the iTunes podcast app or on other podcast platforms like  Stitcher. We’d love to hear from you with suggestions for future podcast topics. Tweet them to us at @EIBMatt or @AllarTankler. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The corporate balance sheet explained—from the reason companies make one, down to the obscure terms that appear on it. If you’ve ever mixed up your left and right, you could just as easily mix up your assets and liabilities. One of them goes on the left-hand side of the balance sheet, while the other goes on the right. Which one goes where?Okay, the assets are on the left. But you’ll find this and many other details of the corporate balance sheet explained in this week’s podcast.Marius Cara, who works in the Finance Directorate of the <a href="http://www.eib.org/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a>, explains the balance sheet and the terms you’ll find on it. That includes: <ul><li>Cash accounting, where you wait until the money comes in before recording the transaction</li><li>Accruals accounting, which makes it possible for you to record a transaction as soon as you know the money will be paid to you, but before you receive the cash</li><li>Accounts receivable, which are assets because they are things you’re expecting to receive</li><li>Accounts payable, which are things you’ll have to pay and are therefore liabilities.</li></ul>Get lots of little tips from Marius, who has even been an auditor in a war zone. For example, how do you pronounce GAAP? The answer is, just like the word “gap.” It stands for the US accounting rules called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. So we’ve already saved you the embarrassment of calling them “gaap rules,” as if you were some kind of bleating lamb. You’re welcome.On the podcast, you’ll also discover that Allar is an asset. (That’s not because of his incisive questioning or his charming smile. It’s just because he shows up for work here at the European Investment Bank. For all companies, employees are recorded as assets.)Get new episodes like this every week, when you subscribe to A Dictionary of Finance in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250325740?mt=2&amp;ls=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes podcast app</a> or on other podcast platforms like <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/european-investment-bank/a-dictionary-of-finance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Stitcher</a>. We’d love to hear from you with suggestions for future podcast topics. Tweet them to us at <a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/AllarTankler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

In between the balance sheets

Imagine you are shopping for a new car—and not just based on the colour. You might consider the number of people it fits (especially if you have kids, despite initially warming to the idea of a convertible coupé), the mileage, the CO2 emissions (if you still want to be admitted to within Paris city limits in a couple of years), how fast it can go, the crash test results, and many other metrics.Turns out there is something similar for banks.When we invited some experts from the European Investment Bank to appear on ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ podcast to talk about best banking practice and banking regulation, we found out banks have to publish their:·        capital adequacy ratio·        leverage ratio·        liquidity ratio·        large exposures to single counterparties·        and various other metrics.These ratios have threshold levels that the bank has to meet so that it’s allowed to operate.But these ratios can also be used by consumers and investors when deciding whether they want to engage with a certain bank.The ratios are prudential requirements for banks. Additionally, there are also non-prudential requirements, which deal with issues such as how the bank is governed, how transparent it is, how compliant it is with other regulation, etc.As Luis Garrido, EIB managerial advisor, elegantly states, the fact that these are called non-prudential requirements, does not mean that these are imprudent. It just helps differentiate from the prudential requirements, which mostly deal with the financial health of the bank and help ensure it doesn’t go bust.Joining Luis on the podcast, we had Marine Viegas, credit risk management officer of the EIB’s regulation and best banking practice division, and Tero Pietila, head of the EIB’s regulatory matters division for this very informative episode.To get the next very informative episode, subscribe to our podcast! There is a button for that on iTunes, Acast, Spotify and most other podcast platforms. Some of them also have the option of rating or reviewing the show, which we fully encourage.Another way to give feedback is by tweeting @EIBMatt or @AllarTankler. Join us again next week!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine you are shopping for a new car—and not just based on the colour. You might consider the number of people it fits (especially if you have kids, despite initially warming to the idea of a convertible coupé), the mileage, the CO2 emissions (if you still want to be admitted to within Paris city limits in a couple of years), how fast it can go, the crash test results, and many other metrics.Turns out there is something similar for banks.When we invited some experts from the <a href="http://www.eib.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a> to appear on ‘<a href="http://www.eib.org/podcasts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Dictionary of Finance</a>’ podcast to talk about best banking practice and banking regulation, we found out banks have to publish their:·        capital adequacy ratio·        leverage ratio·        liquidity ratio·        large exposures to single counterparties·        and various other metrics.These ratios have threshold levels that the bank has to meet so that it’s allowed to operate.But these ratios can also be used by consumers and investors when deciding whether they want to engage with a certain bank.The ratios are prudential requirements for banks. Additionally, there are also non-prudential requirements, which deal with issues such as how the bank is governed, how transparent it is, how compliant it is with other regulation, etc.As Luis Garrido, EIB managerial advisor, elegantly states, the fact that these are called non-prudential requirements, does not mean that these are imprudent. It just helps differentiate from the prudential requirements, which mostly deal with the financial health of the bank and help ensure it doesn’t go bust.Joining Luis on the podcast, we had Marine Viegas, credit risk management officer of the EIB’s regulation and best banking practice division, and Tero Pietila, head of the EIB’s regulatory matters division for this very informative episode.To get the next very informative episode, subscribe to our podcast! There is a button for that on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/a-dictionary-of-finance/id1250325740?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://www.acast.com/adictionaryoffinance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6u5hZxW0IqCsFCfs3sVRWL?" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a> and most other podcast platforms. Some of them also have the option of rating or reviewing the show, which we fully encourage.Another way to give feedback is by tweeting <a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/AllarTankler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. Join us again next week!  Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

How fast can this bank go?

Equity and bond markets collectively are known as the capital markets. The capital markets are mechanisms for raising capital, transforming savings productively into investments, so that companies can produce goods and services for the economy.We get the low-down on how the capital markets work, in a discussion that lays out exactly how technology has changed the traditional image of a bunch of traders yelling at each other on the floor of a stock exchange.Sandeep Dhawan came on A Dictionary of Finance podcast to talk about capital markets and how they work. He took us back to seventeenth-century Amsterdam to early stock exchanges and then right up to date with his explanation of “virtual exchanges,” where all the business is transacted over computer servers.“There is a good argument to be made that an open pit or open outcry system with a whole bunch of loud and aggressive people yelling at each other is such a visceral way of trading that it gives people a better idea of what’s going on in markets than a screen flashing in front of you,” says Sandeep, who works in the Treasury Department of the European Investment Bank.“But that argument is not made very much anymore. Markets now are global. Demand is global. These things needed to spread out to enable transactions to happen all across the globe, rather than in one particular location.”Sandeep explains how equity and bond markets operate in one of our broader episodes on the podcast.He also tells us the difference between capital markets and money markets (mainly it’s to do with money markets representing financial instruments that help finance liquidity for periods shorter than a year, while capital markets offer longer-term instruments.)He also gives us details of:Over-the-counter trading (for bespoke deals between private counterparts) compared to open outcry (the aggressive guys shouting in the trading pit)The phrase “too big to fail,” which is usually used for banks and insurance companies, but is now sometimes applied to hedge fundsHow capital markets are regulated, laying out the process from securities law and its enforcement by securities regulators, as well as the oversight provided by stock exchanges.Get new episodes like this every week, when you subscribe to A Dictionary of Finance in the iTunes podcast app or on other podcast platforms like  Stitcher. We’d love to hear from you with suggestions for future podcast topics. Tweet them to us at @EIBMatt or @AllarTankler. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Equity and bond markets collectively are known as the capital markets. The capital markets are mechanisms for raising capital, transforming savings productively into investments, so that companies can produce goods and services for the economy.We get the low-down on how the capital markets work, in a discussion that lays out exactly how technology has changed the traditional image of a bunch of traders yelling at each other on the floor of a stock exchange.Sandeep Dhawan came on <a href="http://www.eib.org/infocentre/podcasts/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Dictionary of Finance</a> podcast to talk about capital markets and how they work. He took us back to seventeenth-century Amsterdam to early stock exchanges and then right up to date with his explanation of “virtual exchanges,” where all the business is transacted over computer servers.“There is a good argument to be made that an open pit or open outcry system with a whole bunch of loud and aggressive people yelling at each other is such a visceral way of trading that it gives people a better idea of what’s going on in markets than a screen flashing in front of you,” says Sandeep, who works in the Treasury Department of the <a href="http://www.eib.org/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a>.“But that argument is not made very much anymore. Markets now are global. Demand is global. These things needed to spread out to enable transactions to happen all across the globe, rather than in one particular location.”Sandeep explains how equity and bond markets operate in one of our broader episodes on the podcast.He also tells us the difference between capital markets and money markets (mainly it’s to do with money markets representing financial instruments that help finance liquidity for periods shorter than a year, while capital markets offer longer-term instruments.)He also gives us details of: <ul><li>Over-the-counter trading (for bespoke deals between private counterparts) compared to open outcry (the aggressive guys shouting in the trading pit)</li><li>The phrase “too big to fail,” which is usually used for banks and insurance companies, but is now sometimes applied to hedge funds</li><li>How capital markets are regulated, laying out the process from securities law and its enforcement by securities regulators, as well as the oversight provided by stock exchanges.</li></ul>Get new episodes like this every week, when you subscribe to A Dictionary of Finance in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250325740?mt=2&amp;ls=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes podcast app</a> or on other podcast platforms like <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/european-investment-bank/a-dictionary-of-finance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Stitcher</a>. We’d love to hear from you with suggestions for future podcast topics. Tweet them to us at <a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/AllarTankler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Capital markets: Loud, aggressive guys versus virtual markets

Allar and Matt uncover the imaginative names for fast-growing new companies, from unicorns to gazelles, dragons and…cockroaches.A unicorn is a privately held company with a valuation of more than USD 1 billionWhen a company sells shares to the public, it’s called a dragon if it’s worth more than the entire size of the venture capital fund that first invested in itIf you like fairy stories, you’ll enjoy the work of Helmut Krämer-Eis, chief economist of the European Investment Fund. You probably don’t associate finance with fairy stories, but Helmut points out in this episode of A Dictionary of Finance that investors have turned to mythical creatures to describe flourishing new companies.Perhaps when you risk your money with an investment, you need to believe in the company just as much as a five-year-old child listening to a story of flying horses needs to believe in magic? In any case, Helmut explains what kinds of companies can be called a dragon or a unicorn, as well as a gazelle. Allar weighs in with the definition of a cockroach company…There are 170 unicorns around the world and 21 in Europe. Of those, 10 have been supported by financing from the European Investment Fund, which provides financing to small and medium-sized companies and is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allar and Matt uncover the imaginative names for fast-growing new companies, from unicorns to gazelles, dragons and…cockroaches.A unicorn is a privately held company with a valuation of more than USD 1 billionWhen a company sells shares to the public, it’s called a dragon if it’s worth more than the entire size of the venture capital fund that first invested in itIf you like fairy stories, you’ll enjoy the work of Helmut Krämer-Eis, chief economist of the <a href="http://www.eif.org/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Fund</a>. You probably don’t associate finance with fairy stories, but Helmut points out in this episode of <a href="http://www.eib.org/infocentre/podcasts/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Dictionary of Finance</a> that investors have turned to mythical creatures to describe flourishing new companies.Perhaps when you risk your money with an investment, you need to believe in the company just as much as a five-year-old child listening to a story of flying horses needs to believe in magic? In any case, Helmut explains what kinds of companies can be called a dragon or a unicorn, as well as a gazelle. Allar weighs in with the definition of a cockroach company…There are 170 unicorns around the world and 21 in Europe. Of those, 10 have been supported by financing from the European Investment Fund, which provides financing to small and medium-sized companies and is part of the <a href="http://www.eib.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a> Group. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Start-ups: Unicorns really do exist

If you want to know how mergers and acquisitions work, you’d best ask a lawyer. Because there are legions of them involved in any M&amp;A deal (as mergers and acquisitions are known).We hear from two lawyers with extensive experience in M&amp;A, as well as other aspects of corporate law and equity financing, about exactly how mergers and acquisitions work.Alexandra Slack, senior legal counsel at the European Investment Fund, and her European Investment Bank colleague Tom Nguyen take us through the story of M&amp;A from the 1980s, when the field was so wild, hostile and controversial that it prompted a best-selling book called “Barbarians at the Gate,” through to more recent moves toward a less confrontational style of merger. On the way, Tom namechecks Gordon Gecko. Of course.“From the legal perspective, a merger is when one company absorbs another and therefore becomes one entity,” says Alexandra. “In an acquisition, one company takes a majority stake in another and the two companies continue to exist.”For fans of financial definitions (and this is A Dictionary of Finance, after all), Tom and Alexandra explain various terms, including:Squeeze out, which allows an acquirer to buy the whole company, once a certain percentage of the shareholders accept its offer. This is a way of dealing with a dead register.A dead register refers to shareholders who have changed address, for example, but haven’t informed the company, so they don’t respond to an offer to buy their shares by another company.If there are terms or concepts you would like us to explore, give us a shout on Twitter (@EIBMatt or @AllarTankler). Or just send us a picture of you with your hair gelled like Gordon Gecko. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to know how mergers and acquisitions work, you’d best ask a lawyer. Because there are legions of them involved in any M&amp;A deal (as mergers and acquisitions are known).We hear from two lawyers with extensive experience in M&amp;A, as well as other aspects of corporate law and equity financing, about exactly how mergers and acquisitions work.Alexandra Slack, senior legal counsel at the <a href="http://www.eif.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Fund</a>, and her <a href="http://www.eib.org/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a> colleague Tom Nguyen take us through the story of M&amp;A from the 1980s, when the field was so wild, hostile and controversial that it prompted a best-selling book called “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061655555/barbarians-at-the-gate/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barbarians at the Gate</a>,” through to more recent moves toward a less confrontational style of merger. On the way, Tom namechecks <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gordon-gekko.asp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gordon Gecko</a>. Of course.“From the legal perspective, a merger is when one company absorbs another and therefore becomes one entity,” says Alexandra. “In an acquisition, one company takes a majority stake in another and the two companies continue to exist.”For fans of financial definitions (and this is A Dictionary of Finance, after all), Tom and Alexandra explain various terms, including:Squeeze out, which allows an acquirer to buy the whole company, once a certain percentage of the shareholders accept its offer. This is a way of dealing with a dead register.A dead register refers to shareholders who have changed address, for example, but haven’t informed the company, so they don’t respond to an offer to buy their shares by another company.If there are terms or concepts you would like us to explore, give us a shout on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/AllarTankler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>). Or just send us a picture of you with your hair gelled like Gordon Gecko. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

M&A: When the financial gloves come off

A PPP is a public-private partnership. It delivers long-term infrastructure through the private sector. The public sector pays, but only when the infrastructure is available to the public and maintained to the standard set out in the contract.Gabriel García Márquez, the great Colombian writer, said that everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret life. The same is true of infrastructure. This episode is about the secret life of infrastructure, because we’re talking about the thing that connects the public life of infrastructure to its private life. Namely, public-private partnerships.It’s important to know about PPPs, as these partnerships are called, because it’s quite likely that your local or regional government is involved in them and you as a citizen should know what’s being done with these assets.Allar and Matt are joined on the podcast by Stuart Broom, who works at the European PPP Expertise Centre.Stuart explains that a PPP gives the public sector—your local government, for example—the capacity to monitor the private sector managers of its infrastructure and to have clarity about how much it will cost over a period of 25 or 30 years.He also lays out how PPPs work in managing schools, hospitals, toll roads, public buildings, or “availability-based” roads, and gives some insights into how successful they have been. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A PPP is a public-private partnership. It delivers long-term infrastructure through the private sector. The public sector pays, but only when the infrastructure is available to the public and maintained to the standard set out in the contract.Gabriel García Márquez, the great Colombian writer, said that everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret life. The same is true of infrastructure. This episode is about the secret life of infrastructure, because we’re talking about the thing that connects the public life of infrastructure to its private life. Namely, public-private partnerships.It’s important to know about PPPs, as these partnerships are called, because it’s quite likely that your local or regional government is involved in them and you as a citizen should know what’s being done with these assets.Allar and Matt are joined on the podcast by Stuart Broom, who works at the <a href="http://www.eib.org/epec/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European PPP Expertise Centre</a>.Stuart explains that a PPP gives the public sector—your local government, for example—the capacity to monitor the private sector managers of its infrastructure and to have clarity about how much it will cost over a period of 25 or 30 years.He also lays out how PPPs work in managing schools, hospitals, toll roads, public buildings, or “availability-based” roads, and gives some insights into how successful they have been. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

PPPs: The Secret Life of Infrastructure

An event that carries risk can generate harm or a loss. A certain level of risk has to be accepted by, for example, a bank, in order to generate profit. Risk is calculated by assessing the probability that a borrower will default on its repayments.Did you ever take a calculated risk? Whether you were at the top of a ski slope or invading Yakutsk in a game of “Risk,” you probably have done so. But can you really calculate risk? This episode is about how banks and other financial players tot up their risks—and guard against potential losses.In fact we’ll learn that there are a lot of different kinds of risk. They have very specific names, like credit risk and liquidity risk. But don’t worry. The European Investment Bank’s experts will define them all for you. The podcast will also tell you what a black swan is…To talk about risk, we turned to two senior EIB managers. Luigi Armeli is in the Transactions Management and Restructuring directorate, while Giancarlo Sardelli works in the Risk Management directorate. Here are a few of the subjects these clever fellows touched upon in the podcast:The risk appetite of a bank, says Luigi, represents the boundaries of the risk the bank is willing to take as part of its ongoing business.Exposure is the credit that a bank has lent to a given counterparty, as it appears on the bank’s balance sheet. This does not coincide exactly with what the bank risks losing in the case of a default. Normally a bank wouldn’t expect to lose the full exposure in the event of a default, Luigi explains.How complicated is the maths involved in all this? To estimate risk involves mathematical modelling, though calculated risks aren’t only about maths. Giancarlo tells us common sense is just as important to a risk manager, as well as knowledge of law, accounting and other fields.A black swan is a risk that is highly unlikely or almost impossible—until it happens. Where does the phrase come from? For centuries swans were thought only to be white. Black swans were considered an impossibility—until they were discovered in Australia. When a black swan event happens, it has disastrous financial consequences.Liquidity risk is the capacity at any time to ensure the funding of the portfolio of assets on your balance sheet.Credit risk represents the likelihood of getting back money a bank has lent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An event that carries risk can generate harm or a loss. A certain level of risk has to be accepted by, for example, a bank, in order to generate profit. Risk is calculated by assessing the probability that a borrower will default on its repayments.Did you ever take a calculated risk? Whether you were at the top of a ski slope or invading Yakutsk in a game of “Risk,” you probably have done so. But can you really calculate risk? This episode is about how banks and other financial players tot up their risks—and guard against potential losses.In fact we’ll learn that there are a lot of different kinds of risk. They have very specific names, like credit risk and liquidity risk. But don’t worry. The European Investment Bank’s experts will define them all for you. The podcast will also tell you what a black swan is…To talk about risk, we turned to two senior EIB managers. Luigi Armeli is in the Transactions Management and Restructuring directorate, while Giancarlo Sardelli works in the Risk Management directorate. Here are a few of the subjects these clever fellows touched upon in the podcast:The risk appetite of a bank, says Luigi, represents the boundaries of the risk the bank is willing to take as part of its ongoing business.Exposure is the credit that a bank has lent to a given counterparty, as it appears on the bank’s balance sheet. This does not coincide exactly with what the bank risks losing in the case of a default. Normally a bank wouldn’t expect to lose the full exposure in the event of a default, Luigi explains.How complicated is the maths involved in all this? To estimate risk involves mathematical modelling, though calculated risks aren’t only about maths. Giancarlo tells us common sense is just as important to a risk manager, as well as knowledge of law, accounting and other fields.A black swan is a risk that is highly unlikely or almost impossible—until it happens. Where does the phrase come from? For centuries swans were thought only to be white. Black swans were considered an impossibility—until they were discovered in Australia. When a black swan event happens, it has disastrous financial consequences.Liquidity risk is the capacity at any time to ensure the funding of the portfolio of assets on your balance sheet.Credit risk represents the likelihood of getting back money a bank has lent. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Risk management: How do you know when a swan is black?

Find out how macroeconomics works with an overview of Adam Smith and the invisible hand, the Keynesian approach and the Chicago school. Macro (big) is the opposite of micro (small). So macroeconomics is the opposite of microfinance, right? Sorry, things are never that simple in banking. Listen to our episode on microfinance to see what that’s all about. And listen to this episode so you’ll know how macroeconomics works. In fact, you’ll see that, in a way, the main role of macroeconomics is to simplify economics. European Investment Bank economist Rozalia Pal explains that:Macroeconomics deals with the economic performance of aggregated individual actors (companies, or people). In other words, what you do with your money is microeconomics. What the EU does with its money is macroeconomics.We also learn about the history and the approaches behind various schools of thought in economic studies:The classical school of thought, led by Adam Smith, famous for his ‘invisible hand’ metaphor. Smith posited that the invisible hand of the market creates the desired equilibrium.Keynesian economics: During the Great Depression, Rozalia tells us, many economists came to see the invisible hand as failing to working (or at least failing to work fast enough). So the thinking of John Maynard Keynes rose to prominence. The British economist advocated the use of monetary (meaning, focused on interest rates) and fiscal (focused on government spending and taxation) interventions to stimulate the economy.Neo-Keynesians: Following Keynes, Paul Samuelson and Franco Modigliani developed his ideas using mathematical models.Chicago school economics, also called the neo-classical approach, opposed the Keynesian view mostly by showing that government interventions only impact the demand side of the economy. As the supply side is left intact, the effects are only short-term. Milton Friedman promoted what is known as a monetarist approach, proposing a small, but steady expansion of money supply.Does this sound like a simplification? Well, that’s what macroeconomics tries to do, Rozalia tells us. To take lots of different inputs and create an overarching idea.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find out how macroeconomics works with an overview of Adam Smith and the invisible hand, the Keynesian approach and the Chicago school. Macro (big) is the opposite of micro (small). So macroeconomics is the opposite of microfinance, right? Sorry, things are never that simple in banking. Listen to our episode on <a href="http://www.eib.org/podcasts/microfinance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">microfinance</a> to see what that’s all about. And listen to this episode so you’ll know how macroeconomics works. In fact, you’ll see that, in a way, the main role of macroeconomics is to simplify economics. <a href="http://www.eib.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a> economist Rozalia Pal explains that:Macroeconomics deals with the economic performance of aggregated individual actors (companies, or people). In other words, what you do with your money is microeconomics. What the EU does with its money is macroeconomics.We also learn about the history and the approaches behind various schools of thought in economic studies:The classical school of thought, led by Adam Smith, famous for his ‘invisible hand’ metaphor. Smith posited that the invisible hand of the market creates the desired equilibrium.Keynesian economics: During the Great Depression, Rozalia tells us, many economists came to see the invisible hand as failing to working (or at least failing to work fast enough). So the thinking of John Maynard Keynes rose to prominence. The British economist advocated the use of monetary (meaning, focused on interest rates) and fiscal (focused on government spending and taxation) interventions to stimulate the economy.Neo-Keynesians: Following Keynes, Paul Samuelson and Franco Modigliani developed his ideas using mathematical models.Chicago school economics, also called the neo-classical approach, opposed the Keynesian view mostly by showing that government interventions only impact the demand side of the economy. As the supply side is left intact, the effects are only short-term. Milton Friedman promoted what is known as a monetarist approach, proposing a small, but steady expansion of money supply.Does this sound like a simplification? Well, that’s what macroeconomics tries to do, Rozalia tells us. To take lots of different inputs and create an overarching idea.  Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Macroeconomics makes economics simple

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. And do not play Monopoly, if you want to learn about finance. Instead, play a game that Vincent Thunus, head of regulation and best banking practice at the European Investment Bank developed to teach interested high-school students in Luxembourg about what kinds of risks banks (and thereby, its shareholders and clients) may face, and what banks need to do to manage those risks.So we invited two other colleagues, Sophie and Chris, to sit down with us and Vincent to play the game with us, and make it very plain to us what is credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, foreign exchange rate risk, and other risks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. And do not play Monopoly, if you want to learn about finance. Instead, play a game that Vincent Thunus, head of regulation and best banking practice at the <a href="http://www.eib.org/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a> developed to teach interested high-school students in Luxembourg about what kinds of risks banks (and thereby, its shareholders and clients) may face, and what banks need to do to manage those risks.So we invited two other colleagues, Sophie and Chris, to sit down with us and Vincent to play the game with us, and make it very plain to us what is credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, foreign exchange rate risk, and other risks. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Risk, Monopoly, and a game about banking

You don’t need a Ph.D to run bank risk models. But it helps. So A Dictionary of Finance got two superterrific scientists to explain. It’s important because bank risk models are central to the assessment of financial risk by banks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don’t need a Ph.D to run bank risk models. But it helps. So A Dictionary of Finance got two superterrific scientists to explain. It’s important because bank risk models are central to the assessment of financial risk by banks. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Risk models: What's your distance to default?

In this episode of ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ podcast we invited Per-Erik Eriksson, head of inclusive finance at the European Investment Fund, and Hannah Siedek, impact microfinance investment officer at the European Investment Bank, to explain to us what microfinance is. We hear stories from sub-Saharan Africa, where Hannah used to work, about borrowers who, barefoot, would be intimidated by the freezing cold, air-conditioned buildings of traditional banks, and wouldn’t dare to go in. But who then go to a microcredit provider, buy a few cases of beer and start a bar, and in the end take a loan worth several-thousand euros to expand to a second bar, already creating a couple of jobs. Stories about how microfinance is making a difference. We also hear about why microcredit costs so much. An annualized interest rate of 25%?! High time governments put a cap on that… Or is it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of ‘<a href="http://www.eib.org/infocentre/podcasts/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Dictionary of Finance’ podcast</a> we invited Per-Erik Eriksson, head of inclusive finance at the <a href="http://www.eif.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Fund</a>, and Hannah Siedek, impact microfinance investment officer at the <a href="http://www.eib.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a>, to explain to us what microfinance is. We hear stories from sub-Saharan Africa, where Hannah used to work, about borrowers who, barefoot, would be intimidated by the freezing cold, air-conditioned buildings of traditional banks, and wouldn’t dare to go in. But who then go to a microcredit provider, buy a few cases of beer and start a bar, and in the end take a loan worth several-thousand euros to expand to a second bar, already creating a couple of jobs. Stories about how microfinance is making a difference. We also hear about why microcredit costs so much. An annualized interest rate of 25%?! High time governments put a cap on that… Or is it? Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Microfinance: Honey, they shrunk the loan size!

First: a shout-out to our 7 listeners in Mongolia! Our statistics show we really do have listeners all over the world, and we’re very excited about each one.In this week’s episode, we went on a quest to find the most incredible sounding legal terms that we hear lawyers use in the European Investment Bank, and challenged the lawyers to explain them in a way that wouldn’t make one snooze at a garden party.For example, we will help you understand what the Latin phrases “mutatis mutandis”, “ipsa loquitur”, “pari passu” and “in rem security” mean. No, really, you will. And it is not just Latin, either: you’ll also find out what is “snooze, you lose”, and the definition of the innocent-sounding “reservation of rights” which, it turns out, can actually be quite frightening.And if you think all this legal jargon is completely unnecessary, and that people should just act reasonably, beware: we found out that “acting reasonably” is, in fact, a very complicated legal term! So: don’t say it, unless you’ve listened to this episode, and actually mean it.Competing to provide the most exciting legal term (and its explanation) possible were:Kinga Soltész, counsel in the EIB’s Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Eastern Neighbours division.Matthias Brzezinski, counsel in the Austria and Germany legal unit of the EIB.Maria José Cerrato Sánchez, senior counsel for the EIB’s Spain and Portugal legal division.and Tom Nguyen, counsel in the UK and Ireland unit of the EIB’s legal directorate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: a shout-out to our 7 listeners in Mongolia! Our statistics show we really do have listeners all over the world, and we’re very excited about each one.In this week’s episode, we went on a quest to find the most incredible sounding legal terms that we hear lawyers use in the <a href="http://www.eib.org/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a>, and challenged the lawyers to explain them in a way that wouldn’t make one snooze at a garden party.For example, we will help you understand what the Latin phrases “mutatis mutandis”, “ipsa loquitur”, “pari passu” and “in rem security” mean. No, really, you will. And it is not just Latin, either: you’ll also find out what is “snooze, you lose”, and the definition of the innocent-sounding “reservation of rights” which, it turns out, can actually be quite frightening.And if you think all this legal jargon is completely unnecessary, and that people should just act reasonably, beware: we found out that “acting reasonably” is, in fact, a very complicated legal term! So: don’t say it, unless you’ve listened to this episode, and actually mean it.Competing to provide the most exciting legal term (and its explanation) possible were: <ul><li>Kinga Soltész, counsel in the EIB’s Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Eastern Neighbours division.</li><li>Matthias Brzezinski, counsel in the Austria and Germany legal unit of the EIB.</li><li>Maria José Cerrato Sánchez, senior counsel for the EIB’s Spain and Portugal legal division.</li><li>and Tom Nguyen, counsel in the UK and Ireland unit of the EIB’s legal directorate.</li></ul> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Finance law: “Acting reasonably”, and other legal jargon

Financial engineers don’t wear hard hats, even though some of the stuff they figure out is so complicated it might at first feel like a punch in the head. Don’t worry. Our expert explains how financial engineers work, in terms that anyone can understand.Financial engineering is the application of mathematics to financial questions, typically using computer models.Thomas Ribarits, who heads the European Investment Bank’s financial engineering division, explains what financial engineers do. It’s a complicated subject, though Thomas boils down option pricing to a level where he says someone with high school maths could understand it. In fact, he says, it’s all about common sense.Thomas also solves a little dispute over the price of coffee between Allar and Matt on A Dictionary of Finance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Financial engineers don’t wear hard hats, even though some of the stuff they figure out is so complicated it might at first feel like a punch in the head. Don’t worry. Our expert explains how financial engineers work, in terms that anyone can understand.Financial engineering is the application of mathematics to financial questions, typically using computer models.Thomas Ribarits, who heads the European Investment Bank’s financial engineering division, explains what financial engineers do. It’s a complicated subject, though Thomas boils down option pricing to a level where he says someone with high school maths could understand it. In fact, he says, it’s all about common sense.Thomas also solves a little dispute over the price of coffee between Allar and Matt on <a href="http://www.eib.org/infocentre/podcasts/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Dictionary of Finance</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Financial engineering: Engineers without hard hats

It took us 50-plus episodes of ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ podcast to realize we haven’t covered some of the very basics: terminology surrounding loans, our bread and butter.So, Matt morphed into a sock-tycoon trying to get a loan from the European Investment Bank, with Allar acting as his not-so-knowledgeable lawyer. Explaining the loan terms are Garbiela Barufi, EIB loan officer for corporates in Iberia, and Martin Arnold, head of unit for corporate lending in the region. They help us come to terms with the following:Tenor of a loan. Turns out it’s the same as maturity and refers to when the loan needs to be paid back.Grace period. Typically immediately after the loan has been drawn down or disbursed, when the borrower does not need to make payments yet. It’s so the borrower can start making money on the investment first. Availability period.  When the loan is available for the borrower. This period can even be extended, usually for a fee.We also cover secured and unsecured loans, senior and subordinated loans. We learn about floating and fixed interest rates, about EURIBOR, the disgraced LIBOR and SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) which is relevant as the EIB has just issued a first bond linked to the SONIA benchmark.We also learn about the pricing grid or pricing ratchet, in which the price of a loan is linked to a metric of the company’s performance, meaning that the cost of the loan can go up or down based on how the company is doing.And then we discuss repayment profiles, such as balloon, bullet, sculpted etc. We’ll go over the differences of repayment schedules, meaning when do you have to repay how much, exactly. We also discuss which profiles might be more suitable for which kind of businesses.The balloon, for example, doesn’t refer to either the borrower or the bank going bust, at all! Instead, it means the repayments are small in the beginning, and balloon towards the end.And the bullet refers to the silver bullet, meaning it’s a loan that is the answer to all of your problems. No, just kidding, please consult a qualified expert before making any financial decisions, and remember, Matt and Allar are only (barely) qualified to be doing this podcast.Remember to subscribe to this podcast and tell others! Simply look up ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ on iTunes, Acast or Spotify. Get in touch via Twitter with your feedback (@EIBMatt or @AllarTankler). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It took us 50-plus episodes of ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ podcast to realize we haven’t covered some of the very basics: terminology surrounding loans, our bread and butter.So, Matt morphed into a sock-tycoon trying to get a loan from the European Investment Bank, with Allar acting as his not-so-knowledgeable lawyer. Explaining the loan terms are Garbiela Barufi, EIB loan officer for corporates in Iberia, and Martin Arnold, head of unit for corporate lending in the region. They help us come to terms with the following:Tenor of a loan. Turns out it’s the same as maturity and refers to when the loan needs to be paid back.Grace period. Typically immediately after the loan has been drawn down or disbursed, when the borrower does not need to make payments yet. It’s so the borrower can start making money on the investment first. Availability period.  When the loan is available for the borrower. This period can even be extended, usually for a fee.We also cover secured and unsecured loans, senior and subordinated loans. We learn about floating and fixed interest rates, about EURIBOR, the disgraced LIBOR and SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) which is relevant as the EIB has just issued <a href="http://www.eib.org/investor_relations/press/2018/fi-2018-12-EIB%20issues%20markets%20first%20SONIA%20GBP%20benchmark%20with%20GBP%201bn%205y%20issuance.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a first bond</a> linked to the SONIA benchmark.We also learn about the pricing grid or pricing ratchet, in which the price of a loan is linked to a metric of the company’s performance, meaning that the cost of the loan can go up or down based on how the company is doing.And then we discuss repayment profiles, such as balloon, bullet, sculpted etc. We’ll go over the differences of repayment schedules, meaning when do you have to repay how much, exactly. We also discuss which profiles might be more suitable for which kind of businesses.The balloon, for example, doesn’t refer to either the borrower or the bank going bust, at all! Instead, it means the repayments are small in the beginning, and balloon towards the end.And the bullet refers to the silver bullet, meaning it’s a loan that is the answer to all of your problems. No, just kidding, please consult a qualified expert before making any financial decisions, and remember, Matt and Allar are only (barely) qualified to be doing this podcast.Remember to subscribe to this podcast and tell others! Simply look up ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/a-dictionary-of-finance/id1250325740?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://www.acast.com/adictionaryoffinance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6u5hZxW0IqCsFCfs3sVRWL?" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Get in touch via Twitter with your feedback (<a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/AllarTankler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>). Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Bullets, ratchets and balloons

Let’s face it, people don’t like bankers. But that’s because they don’t know about social finance. On this week’s episode of ‘A Dictionary of Finance’ we hear about social finance, which tackles social issues such as migration or the integration of prisoners into society. Listen, because it will make you feel warm and fuzzy. The episode also shows you how to get financing for your business through programmes backed by the European Investment Fund. If you think you might need a microfinance loan, go to 23:10 in the episode and hear Sam Clause, senior investment officer at the European Investment Fund for inclusive finance, explain how it works. At 27:20, Yvette Go, the EIF’s head of social and environmental impact investment, explains how you can get different types of equity financing for your social venture. As this is A Dictionary of Finance, we’ll also look at important terms, including ethical bank. An ethical bank is a place people might invest their money if they want to be sure the bank, in turn, invests in social enterprises. Sam tells you more about this at 30:20, explaining where to find details of an ethical bank in your country. If there are terms or concepts you would like us to explore, give us a shout on Twitter (@EIBMatt or @AllarTankler).Subscribe to our podcast, rate us, and review us! You can do most of those things on any podcast platform you prefer, be it iTunes, Acast or Spotify. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let’s face it, people don’t like bankers. But that’s because they don’t know about social finance. On this week’s episode of ‘<a href="http://www.eib.org/podcasts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Dictionary of Finance</a>’ we hear about social finance, which tackles social issues such as migration or the integration of prisoners into society. Listen, because it will make you feel warm and fuzzy. The episode also shows you how to get financing for your business through programmes backed by the <a href="http://www.eif.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Investment Fund</a>. If you think you might need a microfinance loan, go to 23:10 in the episode and hear Sam Clause, senior investment officer at the European Investment Fund for inclusive finance, explain how it works. At 27:20, Yvette Go, the EIF’s head of social and environmental impact investment, explains how you can get different types of equity financing for your social venture. As this is A Dictionary of Finance, we’ll also look at important terms, including ethical bank. An ethical bank is a place people might invest their money if they want to be sure the bank, in turn, invests in social enterprises. Sam tells you more about this at 30:20, explaining where to <a href="http://www.febea.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">find details of an ethical bank in your country</a>. If there are terms or concepts you would like us to explore, give us a shout on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/EIBMatt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@EIBMatt</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/AllarTankler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@AllarTankler</a>).Subscribe to our podcast, rate us, and review us! You can do most of those things on any podcast platform you prefer, be it <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/a-dictionary-of-finance/id1250325740?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://www.acast.com/adictionaryoffinance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6u5hZxW0IqCsFCfs3sVRWL?" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Social finance: Warm, fuzzy banks

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