IMFS Conference on "Independence of Central Banks and Financial Supervisors"

February 12-13, 2026

Campus Westend
Goethe University Frankfurt

Please register by February 6, 2026.

Program, February 12, 2026

13:00 – 13:30	Registration and Coffee
13:30 – 13:45	Introductory Remarks Katja Langenbucher, Goethe University Frankfurt Volker Wieland, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability
13:45 – 14:15	Independent Central Banks - Too Much Power in the Hands of Unelected Technocrats? Otmar Issing, Center for Financial Studies
14:15 – 15:45	The U.S. Fed: Legal and Economic Perspectives on Its Independence Chair: Ann-Katrin Kaufhold, Vice-President and Justice, Bundesverfassungsgericht The Rationale and Legitimacy for Independence Jill E. Fisch, Penn Carey Law School The Fed’s Independence and Implications for Monetary Policy Andrew T. Levin, Dartmouth College The Fed’s Independence, Failures in Bank Regulation and Supervision and How to Fix Them Charles Calomiris, Columbia Business School
15:45 – 16:15	Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:00	Panel Discussion: Independence in the U.S. and Europe: Monetary Policy Chair: Volker Wieland, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability Jill E. Fisch, Penn Carey Law School Otmar Issing, Center for Financial Studies Andrew T. Levin, Dartmouth College
17:00 – 18:00	Panel Discussion: Independence in the U.S. and Europe: Financial Supervision Chair: Katja Langenbucher, Goethe University Frankfurt Chiara Zilioli, European Central Bank Charles Calomiris, Columbia Business School Rupert Schaefer, Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht

Program, February 13, 2026

08:30 – 09:00	Coffee
09:00 – 10:00	Central Bank Independence: Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Evidence Chair: Emanuel Mönch, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Economic Theory and Central Bank Independence Gerhard Illing, LMU Munich Empirics of Independent Central Banking: Measurement and Performance Sylvester Eijffinger, Tilburg University
10:00 – 11:00	Central Bank Independence, Democracy and Market Actors Chair: Katja Langenbucher, Goethe University Frankfurt Independence in a Democracy – A Question of Separation of Powers David Kershaw, London School of Economics The Varying Degrees of Political Independence and the Special Role of the Fed Saule Omarova, Penn Carey Law School
11:00 – 11:30	Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:00	Financial Stability Oversight: A View from Policy Practice Christina Skinner, Financial Stability Oversight Council, U.S. Treasury
12:00 – 13:00	Roundtable: Markets Perspectives on Central Bank Independence and Financial Stability Chair: Volker Wieland, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability tbd
13:00 – 13:05	Concluding Remarks Katja Langenbucher, Goethe University Frankfurt