MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy
Public Policy
GCFP co-hosts conference on “Rethinking Federal Credit”
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Federal credit program managers and other subject area experts from government, industry, and academia took part in a recent conference co-sponsored by the MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy and PwC Public Sector LLP. Held May 17, 2018 at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., the conference, titled “Rethinking Federal Credit: Managing Loan & Loan Guarantee Programs in a Changing Environment,” offered insights into how federal credit programs are evolving with changes in the economic, policy, and technological arenas and what challenges and opportunities may lie ahead.
The day opened with a keynote address by Mark Calabria, Ph.D., Assistant to the Vice President and Chief Economist of the Executive Office of the Vice President. Dr. Calabria highlighted the growth of federal credit programs before, during, and after the financial crisis and revisited the economic justification of such programs.
These themes were carried into the day’s first panel as well, as Doug Criscitello and Kyle Shohfi of the Golub Center took a historical perspective in examining the world’s largest financial institution, the U.S. Government, before turning to prospects for the future. Slides from their presentation are available online. The panel continued with Ron Borzekowsky, Ph.D. of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as he shared some preliminary analysis of new mortgage data and ways of measuring federal credit program outcomes. The panel was moderated by Kim Burke of The Craddock Group, who guided conference participants to think about their own programs using the perspectives shared in the panel.
During the lunch session, attendees listened attentively as David Fragale (MBA ’15) gave an engaging talk on blockchain and other disruptive financial technologies. Mr. Fragale noted some potential implications for federal credit program managers and addressed several specific questions from the audience.
After lunch, the conference continued with a panel on tools to improve the management of credit programs, moderated by Tom Stanton. Panelists from three different agencies shared their experiences, evaluative techniques, and lessons learned.
The conference concluded with a forward-looking panel on the rapidly evolving technology environment, moderated by David Fragale. Panelists from inside and outside government shared their perspectives on the disruption taking place in the financial services industry as well as on the challenges and opportunities it presents for federal agencies.
