The CSFI is an independent think tank based in London. It was formed in early 1993 to stimulate research into the future of the financial services industry, and to provide a neutral meeting ground for financial practitioners to share ideas and explore the road ahead.

• Europe - notably the single market in financial services and economic and monetary union
• The impact of the internet (and other technologies) on financial markets
• Financial regulation
• Governance issues
• Financial deprivation
• Financial architecture
• Microfinance
• Risk management

The Centre is unique: there is no comparable forum in the financial sector which is able to inquire and judge, free from political and commercial pressures. The CSFI has no ideological brief. As such, it provides a valuable facility for the City of London and the wider field of international finance which it serves. The Centre's contacts in finance, government, technology, academia, professional services and the press ensure wide input into, and dissemination of, its work.

Much of the CSFI's work centres on round tables where topical issues are thrashed out by practitioners. These frequently evolve into working groups, which meet regularly to monitor developments in selected areas, such as EMU or technology. The CSFI regularly publishes papers designed to provoke further discussion. From time to time, the Centre organises set-piece conferences on the big issues of the day. It also publishes occasional books.

The CSFI has a director and a small administrative staff based in its own offices in London's West End.  It is sponsored and supported by many of the world's leading banks, professional firms and technology companies, as well as official organisations such as the Bank of England, the UK Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. In 2002 a new office in New York opened and we expect to hold a number of round-tables there this year.

CSFI New York

The CSFI is headed by a governing council chaired by Sir Brian Pearse, former finance director of Barclays, and former chief executive of Midland Bank.

The council sets the overall direction for the Centre and reviews its activities. The other members of the council are:

Sir Brian Pearse

Governing Council

Minos Zombanakis (also chairman of the CSFI's trustees) is one of the founders of the Euromarkets and was formerly head of international investment banking for First Boston and Manufacturers Hanover.

Sir David Bell (also a trustee) is chairman of the Financial Times Group and sits on the board of Pearson plc.

Geoffrey Bell is the founder and a member of the board of directors of the Group of Thirty, and president of Geoffrey Bell and Company.

Robert Bench is former vice-chairman of the regulatory practice and managing partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Washington. He is a former deputy US Comptroller of the Currency.

Rudi Bogni is a director of Old Mutual plc, Kedge Capital, Prospect Publishing and a trustee of LGT, as well as several other institutions. In his professional past, he was a member of the executive board of UBS as global head of private banking and of the executive committee of Midland Bank as Group Treasurer.

Philip Brown is Director of Risk for Citi Microfinance. His assignments at Citi have included a wide breadth of roles including, Country Business Head (general manager), business and staff positions in the United States , Europe, Sri Lanka and the Channel Islands.  Mr. Brown is a fellow of the Institute of Financial Services, a member of the Advisory Council of the Centre for Financial Inclusion, and a former Chairman of the Strategic Planning Society. With CSFI's he instigated and has supported the Microfinance Banana Skins risk surveys.  

Peter Cooke was until recently chairman of the world wide regulatory practice of PriceWaterhouseCoopers in London. He is a former executive director of the Bank of England, and chairman of the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision.

Bill Dalton was an executive director of HSBC Holdings plc from 1998, Global Head of Personal Financial Services until May 2004 and Chief Executive of HSBC Bank plc until January 2004. He is currently a non-executive director of Swiss Re GB Plc.

Sir David Davies is chairman of EFG Private Bank.

Charles Goodhart is the Norman Sosnow professor of finance at the London School of Economics. He was until 2000 a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, and is the co-founder of the LSE's Financial Markets Group.

John Heimann is a former chairman and senior advisor to the Basel-based Financial Stability Institute (which he helped set up). He is a former US Comptroller of the Currency and chairman of Merrill Lynch's global financial institutions group.

John Hitchins is a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and leads the PwC UK Banking and Capital Markets practice. He has over thirty years of experience of auditing banks and other financial institutions and has carried out a wide range of advisory work in the industry covering financial reporting, corporate governance, control frameworks and regulatory compliance issues. He is a board member of the Financial Services Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and chairs the Institute's Banking Committee.

René Karsenti is Executive President and member of the Board of Directors of ICMA. He is a former Director General of Finance of the European Investment Bank and Treasurer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Henry Kaufman is chairman of Henry Kaufman & Co in New York. He is a former partner at Salomon Brothers.

Angela Knight is chief executive designate of the British Bankers' Association and former economics secretary to the Treasury.

Sir Andrew Large is a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, prior to which he was Chairman of the Securities and Investment Board and Deputy Chairman of Barclays.

Robin Monro-Davies was the chief executive officer of Fitch until the end of 2001. He is currently a non-executive director of Fitch, and Fimalac S.A.  Amongst his other non-executive directorships are AXA UK Plc and New Flag. Previously, Robin founded IBCA and was joint managing director of Fox-Pitt Kelton.

Rick Murray is the chief claims strategist at Swiss Re. He was previously a senior officer of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu organization and chairman and chief executive officer of Minet Professional Services. He is currently the director of the Corporate Performance Project for the World Economic Forum.

John Plender is a leader and feature writer at the Financial Times and specialist on corporate governance.

David Potter is a former chief executive officer of Guinness Mahon Holdings and deputy chairman of Investec Bank (UK) Ltd, prior to this he was a member of the Midland Bank and Samuel Montagu (now HSBC). He is currently chairman of Camco International, Spark Ventures and Quercus Publishing. He is a non executive director of Execution Noble, Vanis Plc and Ortus VCT. He is chairman of the National Film and TV School Foundation, a Trustee of the Nelson Mandela Childrens’s Fund (UK) and of WorldWide Volunteering. He is a governor of Godolphin and Latymer School.

Mark Robson is a senior manager at the Bank of England. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford   University , a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Economic Society. He is also a Chartered Mathematician and Scientist, Member of Council of City University, and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers.

Sir Brian Williamson  until recently was chairman of LIFFE but is still a member of the Euronext supervisory board. He is a non-executive director of HSBC Holdings plc, chairman of Electra Investment Trust Plc and is a senior advisor to Fleming Family & Partners. He is a former chairman of Gerrard Group Plc; NASDAQ International Advisory Board and was also a director at the Financial Services Authority and a member of the court of The Bank of Ireland.

Peter Wilson-Smith is a senior consultant at Quiller Consultants, one of the UK’s leading strategic communications consultancies, whose clients include major educational organisations, charities and companies. He is also Chairman of Oxford School of Drama. Before joining Quiller Consultants, Peter was Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Financial News. His journalistic career spanned daily and weekly newspapers, as well as reporting and presenting on television and radio.

David Rule was appointed as the first Chief Executive of the International Securities Lending Association in May 2007. Previously David was Head of Sterling Markets Division at the Bank of England where he led the Bank's reforms of the sterling money markets which completed in 2006. David also chaired the Securities Lending and Repo Committee from 2002 until 2006. Earlier in his career David worked as a banking regulator and on payments and settlements policy at the Bank.  He has published a number of articles on credit, fixed income and money markets and on financial regulation.

Andrew Hilton is director of the CSFI. Dr Hilton is a former World Bank economist and editor-in-chief of the International Reports group in New York. He also runs a small economic consulting firm in London. He has published widely on economics, energy and finance. He has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA from New College, Oxford.

Jane Fuller is co-director of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation and consulting editor of Financial World. She chairs the Accounting Advocacy Committee of the CFA Society of the UK, the analysts’ organisation. In 2005 she formed her own consultancy, Fuller Analysis, and her clients include the Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Times. She is also co-editor of Harriman’s Financial Dictionary. Jane spent more than 18 years on the FT, culminating in the role of Financial Editor. During that time she wrote for the Lex, Lombard and Leader columns.

David Lascelles is senior fellow and joint founder of the CSFI. A former financial journalist, David's areas of interest include the impact of new developments such as the Internet and the euro on the finance sector, and the future of the City of London in the era of e-banking and the single currency. He is also author of the CSFI's popular annual "Banana Skins" survey, which identifies the major risks facing the world banking industry.

Before joining the CSFI in 1996, David was with the Financial Times where he held a number of senior positions including New York Correspondent, Banking Editor and Resources Editor. In these positions he wrote extensively about international business and finance, and acquired a broad knowledge of the global marketplace.

In April 2005 he published "Other People's Money- the revolution in high street banking". The book, commissioned by the Institute of Financial Services, traces the social and economic changes in the finance sector over the last half century, and identifies trends that will shape the future.

David Lascelles is a graduate in modern languages and law from Cambridge University. He is married with two children.

PA to the director
Rhiannon Davidge

Programme Coordinator
Lisa Moyle

Funding Coordinator

Eeva Ellenberg

Administrator
Sophie Robson

Current Intern

Intern programme

The Centre maintains an active intern programme, which enables students from many countries to gain first hand experience of the finance sector. Usually we take 2-3 interns a year, who stay with us for up to three months. We are always interested in hearing from high-quality graduate (and sometimes undergraduate) students in economics, finance or related fields. For more information, please contact the programme coordinator.

Intern Programme

Advisory Council Minutes

The CSFI Advisory Council (drawn from sponsors, academics and friends of the Centre) meets several times a year, and contributes to our work programme.  These minutes show what members of the CSFI Advisory Council think the CSFI should be looking at.

November, 2007

April, 2007

October, 2006

February, 2006

June, 2005

February, 2005

July, 2004

January, 2004

July, 2003

November, 2002

June, 2002

December, 2001

May, 2001