The financial crisis is now affecting the real economy. The world is experiencing the largest economic slump since the Second World War. The key question is: How could it happen and what long-term lessons can the financial markets learn from it? How are Basel II and IFRS to be evaluated against the backdrop of the growing crisis? What can be said about how the crisis has been managed? What regulatory conclusions have already been drawn and what other changes can be expected in the frame-
work conditions for the financial markets and in central bank policy? What effect will this have on Financial Centre Germany?

Every crisis also creates opportunities. What opportunities are there for Germany as a financial centre? Is the present crisis causing investors to think differently? Can meaningful regulation help to remove information asymmetries between buyers and sellers in the credit markets, thus getting the market going again? Is the crisis even giving Frankfurt as a financial centre a new edge over less stringently regulated centres such as London or Dublin? These forward-looking issues will be debated by the panel of high-ranking representatives of politics and the banking industry.