Talk on Risk Management

Renowned banker Mr. Avinder Bindra, CEO, Arx Analytics visited the Department of Finance, Delhi University to hold a talk on Risk Management. With his vast experience over varied landscapes Mr. Bindra spoke of how banking has evolved over the years with the advent of derivatives and other financial instruments today. Speaking on The Asian Financial crises in 1997 Mr. Bindra talked of how a huge liquidity risk was prevalent and economies were ignorant of the magnanimity of the situation until the crisis hit them. There is a difference in approach in lending between the west and the east. While the American model is based  on cash flows the Asian model is asset based.

Mr. Bindra went on to talk about the typical problems with lending in Asian markets.  The Zaibatsu’s in Japan made huge defaults by rooting lending to their unproductive conglomerates through their only productive entity. Why didn’t the Lehmann Brothers with their resource and expertise anticipate their fall? How are banks expected to manage their risks so as to safeguard them from elements even outside their control such as interest rate? The answer lies in the details. These were some among a host of other questions discussed during the session.
While there was a time when banking was less complex but new recruits were made to train more the situation now is exactly the opposite. So what is wrong with banking today? As Mr. Bindra quoted Micheal Lewis from “The Big Short”

““In Bakersfield, California, a Mexican strawberry picker with an income of $14,000 and no English was lent every penny he needed to buy a house for $724,000.”

MFC Victorious

The Football team all geared up

MFC were crowned champions at the recent Sports meet at South campus Delhi University. Beating the Department of History by 4 goals to 1 MFC won the final in a 4 day long football tournament. Manjeet Singh Negi came out with flying colors to score 2 goals in the final with Siva and Anmol netting one goal each.

The students were not only at a high in the football field but they managed to make it to the final of the Volleyball competition as well losing a close game while missing out in the semifinals in the cricket ground. Bearing witness to tense matches and close calls the students are getting a taste of what lies ahead.

Students are now set to assemble for the last month before Semester exams.

The Ratings Game by Mr. Rohit Chugh

Mr. Rohit Chugh, associate director at CRISIL recently held a talk in campus on Rating Agencies and their relevance.
Clearing a lot of myths about rating agencies, he outlined that the basic premise a rating agency works on should not be sidelined which is "the problem of default". "We basically try to present the ability and willingness of an entity to meet its debt obligations in a way that is easy to understand". Mr. Chugh contested the concept of a 'rating watch' pointing out that the idea signifies a lack of opinion and that is not what one expects from a rating agency.

The Standard and Poor's rating of India is at BBB- with a negative outlook which is a worrying sign for the economy as it faces the chance of a downgrade amidst several warnings.  This puts us in line with countries like Italy and Spain which are spiraled in the Euro crisis.

Mr. Chugh addressing students

Mr. Chugh spoke of his experiences at CRISIL and said one test he often faces is to evaluate the willingness of an enterprise to pay back its debt. As easy as it sounds a lot of factors go into analyzing this and it is a real challenge. So what would be the major indicators you base your opinion on, asked a student? "Well, its majorly about Cash and Debt, says Mr. Chugh, they can often tell you what the story is".

"It was an enlightening session, managing debt is one of the primary objects of a finance professional and mismanaging debt the spark that lights up a crisis" said Mridul Singh, a Part 1 student at MFC.

Panel Discussion on Analytics

The panelist during the discussion on business analytics chaired by Prof. Muneesh Kumar (centre)

The Department of Finance hosted a panel discussion on the emerging trend of Financial Analytics and Business Analytics. The speakers with their vast knowledge and experience in the industry briefed the students about the need of analytics in the business and financial world and how analytics has fuelled growth in varied sectors.

The speakers for the discussion included:
Mr. Atrideb Basu -Senior Director, Predictive Analytics Group, Cognilytics Inc.
Mrs. Sumana De Majumdar- Analysis Director, Dunnhumby
Mrs. Nidhi Pratapneni- Director, Dell Inc.
Mr. Abhishek Bansal- Associate Director, Customer Analytics, Absolutdata
Dr. Manish Gupta- Vice President- Analytics, Info Edge (India) Ltd
Mr. Krishna Agarwal- Director , Affine Analytics
Mr. Kapil Jawa- Vice President, Financial Services Analytics, Genpact

It follows the basic principle of narrowing down market and quantifying results to guide decision making. Analytics is not only being adopted by the major players with huge financial resources but smaller businesses have begun to understand its value and are increasingly adopting it. However the speakers pointed out the need for the right approach to avoid any mishaps as this can often be the case.

The students took great interest and poured in with questions about technicalities in programming, the nature of the analytics industry and its role in the path of a finance professional.

All in all, analytics has been in the limelight for all the right reasons and its journey ahead only seems to be getting better.

Hello There!!

Hello to one and all.
I informally welcome you to the formal group of Masters in Finance and Control, Delhi University.
A round up of the on and off campus news is on your way.

The students of the 27th batch of MFC have selected their new Afcon. The students are excited and ready to steer the ship carrying the legacy of a highly prized line of financial and business experts. The placement season is on and the batch of 2013 is all suited up and ready to take on the bull and signal their arrival in the industry.With signs of great optimism, recruiters are turning up and it seems to be a busy road ahead at the Department.

Besides this, we have a huge round of eminent professionals turning up to address the students in the
next few weeks. You better bookmark this URL for we’re going to cover some highly valuable sessions over the coming period. Almost a year into the course it has been an experience of the most potent combinations of brainstorming and recreation, of deadlines and business suits, of guest lectures and industry visits. As a new lot of aspirants gear up for their group discussions and personal interviews, the MFC family expects a promising and ambitious lot. With thousands of students yearning for the forty odd seats or so the fight has begun from the 4th of March, 2013.
Good wishes from here at MFC to all and sundry. We look forward to seeing and interacting with you.

As the Chinese put it:
“May you all live in interesting times”.