Singapore, 18 December 2019 — The National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have jointly appointed Professor Amit Seru, an eminent financial economist, as the MAS Term Professor in Economics and Finance from 16 to 20 December 2019. Prof Seru will be hosted by the Department of Finance at the NUS Business School and the Economic Policy Group at the MAS during the term of the Professorship.
Prof Seru is the Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Finance at Stanford University. His research has focused on financial intermediation and regulation, interaction of the internal organisation of firms with financing and investment, and incentive provision in firms. He is a Senior Fellow at both the Hoover Institution and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Prior to his appointment at Stanford University, Prof Seru held faculty positions at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Prof Seru was previously the 2018 Alexandre Lamfalussy Senior Research Fellow at the Bank for International Settlements, and served on the Working Group on Behavioural Economics and Corporate Finance hosted by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Distinguished Professor Andrew Rose, Dean, NUS Business School, said, “Prof Amit Seru is an esteemed figure in corporate finance who has produced influential research in fields such as financial regulation and incentive provision in firms. I look forward to his visit, and believe our faculty and students will benefit from their interactions with him.”
Mr Edward Robinson, Deputy Managing Director (Economic Policy) and Chief Economist at MAS, said, “Prof Amit Seru’s wide-ranging research on banking regulations, firm behaviour and more recently, fintech and shadow banking, is most relevant to economic and financial policy work in Singapore. His papers on the US mortgage market have provided new insights on the differential impact of fixed versus adjustable contracts on household deleveraging in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. Prof Seru’s research contributions have also shed new light on the role of financial frictions in affecting economic agents’ behaviour, with implications for macroeconomic outcomes. We are honoured to host him at MAS and look forward to a productive exchange of views with such an eminent scholar.”
At NUS, Prof Seru will deliver a public lecture and engage faculty members and PhD students on their research. He will also visit MAS, where he will conduct a seminar on the rise of fintech and shadow banks, and engage policymakers and economists on financial and macroprudential policy issues.
About the MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance
First established in 2009, the MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance is awarded to distinguished scholars, who are appointed as Visiting Professors at both the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the NUS Business School. It aims to strengthen Singapore’s financial and economics research infrastructure and contribute to a vibrant research community and culture at local universities.
The MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance has been awarded to 20 distinguished scholars over the last 10 years.
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About National University of Singapore (NUS)
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 17 faculties across three campuses in Singapore, as well as 12 NUS Overseas Colleges across the world. Close to 40,000 students from 100 countries enrich our vibrant and diverse campus community.
Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, 29 university-level research institutes, research centres of excellence and corporate labs focus on themes that include energy, environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases common among Asians; active ageing; advanced materials; as well as risk management and resilience of financial systems. Our latest research focus is on the use of data science, operations research and cybersecurity to support Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.
For more information on NUS, please visit www.nus.edu.sg.
About Monetary Authority of Singapore
As Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) promotes sustained, non-inflationary economic growth through appropriate monetary policy formulation and close macroeconomic surveillance of emerging trends and potential vulnerabilities. It manages Singapore’s exchange rate, foreign reserves and liquidity in the banking sector. MAS is also an integrated supervisor overseeing all financial institutions in Singapore — banks, insurers, capital market intermediaries, financial advisors, and the stock exchange. Being an integrated supervisor allows the MAS to adopt a consistent and progressive regulatory and supervisory approach and framework, thereby ensuring a level playing field across all market segments, sectors and activities. With its mandate to foster a sound and progressive financial services sector in Singapore, MAS also helps shape Singapore’s financial industry by promoting a strong corporate governance framework and close adherence to international accounting standards. In addition, it spearheads retail investor education. MAS ensures that Singapore’s financial industry remains vibrant, dynamic and competitive by working closely with other government agencies and financial institutions to develop and promote Singapore as a regional and international financial centre.
For more information, please visit www.mas.gov.sg.