Focusing on the factors of European competitiveness, the ninth annual international conference Financial Markets took place on 23rd – 24th May 2019 on the premises of our university. The conference was held under the auspices of Jiří Rusnok, Governor of the Czech National Bank. At the beginning, Petr Budinský, Vice-rector of the VŠFS, gave a warm welcome to all guests, expressed his thanks to the conference partners, and informed the conference participants about its programme. The first keynote speaker was Karel Havlíček, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry, who focused his speech on the support of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the establishment of a development fund and cooperation with The Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank. He also expressed his negative opinion on the bank tax bill. The following keynote speech was presented by Lenka Dupáková, Deputy Minister of Finance, who concentrated on the Capital Markets' Union at the European level, on the capital market's concept in the Czech Republic and the risks related to the regulation of virtual currencies. Then, Milan Šimáček, Adviser to the CNB Bank Board, focused on the current developments on financial markets, financing with the help of credits on the one hand, and bonds and shares on the other hand, as well as on the capital market's weaknesses.
After a short break, the program continued with the first panel discussion, moderated by Petr Budinský, Vice-Rector of the VŠFS and one of the conference professional guarantors. Jiří Jirásek from the Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank followed up the speech of the Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček when dealing with the problem of financing and funding small and medium-sized enterprises. He focused on its various forms and specific products that allow for a multiplier effect. The next speaker, Jana Brodani (AKAT) highlighted specific problems with corporate bonds, legal and tax environment stability, and she also dealt with the issues of the harmonization of the European legislation and local regulation. Petr Koblic, who has been President of the Federation of the European Stock Exchanges (FESE) since 2018, also significantly contributed to the panel discussion. His topics were Brexit and its implications for the capital market, the Capital Markets Union, and technology financing through shares. The last speaker was Vratislav Svoboda (J&T Bank), who introduced the private investors' investment structure and the role of individual financial instruments. He also devoted some time to the historical development of the capital market.
On the first conference day, panel discussions focusing on the development factors of capital market resources designated for SME investments in innovations, digitalization and robotics were held. Common ground for expanding the opportunities and resources of SME investment financing from the capital market until 2023 was discussed, too.
On its second day, the conference continued with the contributions of our foreign guests from the University of Economics in Bratislava, and also with the students' panel.
