Finance, business and the crisis

Last updated: 16 March 2010

The global economic crisis is affecting families and communities across the planet. Restoring stability, confidence and growth is a priority. The Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF) focuses on helping governments to improve the domestic and global policies that affect business and markets. We identify policies and best practices designed to keep markets open, competitive and sustainable while combating market abuses and economic crime through international co-operation. This page provides an overview of our response to the crisis in several key domains.

Responding to the crisis

OECD, WTO and UNCTAD renew calls to G20 to resist protectionism - OECD, WTO and UNCTAD have called on the leaders of the G20 countries to resist protectionism or the prospects for economic recovery may be wiped out. Their second combined report on G20 Trade and Investment Measures finds that most G20 members are holding to their commitments to open trade and investment in the wake of the global economic crisis.

Towards better corporate governance - the financial crisis has revealed severe shortcomings in corporate governance. When most needed, they often failed to provide the checks and balances that companies need in order to cultivate sound business practices. OECD has launched an ambitious action plan to address weakness in corporate governance.

Mats Isaksson talks about the corporate governance failures thrown up by the crisis in areas like executive pay and risk management and what needs to be done.

Private pensions - the current financial crisis has had a major impact on global pension assets. The largest impact to date has been on private pension schemes which have seen an average decline of over 23% or USD 5.4 trillion in their investments across the OECD, according to Private Pensions Outlook.

"Freedom of Investment" initiative - OECD has, since early 2006, provided a forum for intergovernmental dialogue on how governments can reconcile the need to preserve and expand an open international investment environment with their duty to safeguard the essential security interests of their people. Participating countries have pledged to resist discriminatory policies and new forms of protectionism towards investment in the context of the global economic crisis and to continue to monitor measures and commitments.

Fighting corruption - corruption threatens good governance, sustainable development, democratic process and fair business practices. OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention was the first global instrument to fight corruption in cross-border business deals.

Key publications and articles

• The Elephant in the Room: The Need to Deal with What Banks Do, January 2010
  Contagion risk and counterparty failure have been the main hallmarks of the current crisis. This article investigates whether there is a better way to ensure volatile investment banking functions do not dominate the future stability of the commercial banking and financial intermediation environment that is so critical for economic activity. 
   

• The Financial Crisis: Reform and Exit Strategies - September 2009
  The financial crisis required governments to make massive interventions in their financial systems. This book sets out priorities for reforming incentives in financial markets as well as for phasing out these emergency measures.
   
  

• Dealing with the financial crisis and thinking about the exit strategy, June 2009
  This paper looks at the stages of crisis management within the financial system and some of the different degrees of transparency on losses and risks in the US and Europe and outlining the requirements of longer-run reform.
   

• Corporate governance and the financial crisis: Key findings and main messages, June 2009
  This report aims to further advance the action plan on corporate governance and the financial crisis. Following an analysis of major corporate governance weaknesses, it provides a set of key findings and main messages that will provide the basis for a set of recommendations to be issued towards the end of the year.
   
• Competition and financial markets: Key findings, June 2009
  The OECD’s Competition Committee debated competition issues in the current
  financial crisis on 17-18 February 2009. This report presents executive summary of the debate and the written materials for the discussion.
   
• Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection: Overlooked Aspects of the Crisis, June 2009
  This report provides further information on the context in which the OECD has actively taken a leadership role in proposing policy actions related to the protection and awareness of financial consumers in light of the financial crisis, especially through the elaboration of the Good Practices on Financial Education and Awareness Relating to Credit.  
   
• Investment policies and economic crises: lessons from the past, April 2009
  How have governments responded to national and international crises in terms of their policies towards international investment? This paper looks at the range of investment policies adopted in previous crises and at how investors responded. It then compares this historical experience with recent measures announced to mitigate the current crisis.
    
• Private pensions and policy responses to the financial and economic crisis, April 2009
  This paper discusses responses to the current financial and economic crisis by regulators, supervisors and policy makers in the area of private pensions. It focuses on the role of private pensions in complementing public systems and on how to design pension systems to introduce some degree of protection, improve sustainability of funding, enhance management and supervision, and step up disclosure and communication.
    
• Building trust and confidence in international investment, April 2009
  This report is based on the work of the countries involved in the OECD’s “Freedom of Investment” initiative, which together represent four fifths of the world economy. It calls on countries to remain vigilant and monitor the risk of discriminatory policies and new forms of protectionism which may emerge as a result of the crisis.
   
• Keeping markets open in times of crisis, April 2009
  The risks of trade and investment protectionism rise in times of crisis, yet countries must resist pressures to close off trade and investment flows that are badly needed to bolster activity. Trade and international investment cannot by themselves bring about a recovery, but as this policy brief warns, they are crucial for sustaining long-term development.
   
• Corporate Governance Lessons from the Financial Crisis, February 2009
  The financial crisis has revealed severe shortcomings in corporate governance. When most needed, they often failed to provide the checks and balances that companies need in order to cultivate sound business practices.This report analyses the impact of failures and weaknesses in corporate governance on the financial crisis, including risk management systems and executive salaries, providing a first overview of these shortcomings and the resulting challenges.  

Permanent URL: www.oecd.org/daf/crisisresponse