House of Finance
The House of Finance is the center at Goethe University Frankfurt for research and education in finance, economics and law. The center brings together academic institutions that study financial markets, money and the rules governing financial activity. Graduate programs in economics and finance and courses in financial law connect this research setting with advanced study.
Researchers and students work across disciplines that are often taught or studied separately. The House of Finance also supports exchanges with financial institutions and public policymakers. The shared setting helps connect academic research with questions about banking, financial regulation and monetary policy.
Institutes under one roof
When the House of Finance opened in 2008 it combined three university departments, three research centers and two schools. Among them were the Center for Financial Studies (CFS), the E-Finance Lab, the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS) and the Institute for Law and Finance (ILF). The International Center for Insurance Regulation joined in 2010, SAFE was set up in 2013, and LawFin, a center for law and finance, followed in 2018. About 200 researchers, 40 of them professors, work in the building, according to the House of Finance itself.
A Board of Trustees with representatives from financial institutions, supervisors and government oversees the House of Finance Foundation that supports it.
SAFE, the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research
SAFE joined the Leibniz Association in 2019. SAFE has five research departments: Financial Intermediation, Financial Markets, Household Finance, Macro Finance, and Law & Finance. A Policy Center turns research into policy papers and the SAFE Finance Blog, and a Data Center gives researchers access to financial databases. SAFE brings together academics, policymakers and practitioners for exchange and cooperation.
Research that banks and central banks read
The Center for Financial Studies surveys professionals and decision-makers of the German financial sector. One of its surveys found little demand for a digital euro, reported on German financial sector largely sees no need for a digital euro. The HOF Policy Platform passes research on to regulators and policymakers, and House of Finance researchers have sat on advisory bodies such as the Liikanen group on bank structure and the German Council of Economic Experts.
Upcoming finance events in Frankfurt
Conferences at the House of Finance
The IMFS holds The ECB and Its Watchers once a year. Otmar Issing and Axel Weber started the format in June 1999 to discuss the strategy of the new central bank with academics, bank economists and journalists on neutral ground. The CFS Presidential Lectures and ILF conferences on the future of the financial sector bring practitioners to the Westend campus as well.
Finance Loop works with research centers at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, the other finance university in the city: the Frankfurt School Centre for Digital Economics is a partner and succeeded the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center.
What is the House of Finance in Frankfurt?
The House of Finance is a building and organizational unit of Goethe University Frankfurt on the Westend campus that brings the university's research institutes, graduate schools and departments for money and finance together; the House of Finance opened in 2008.
Which institutes are in the House of Finance?
Among them are SAFE, the Center for Financial Studies, the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability, the Institute for Law and Finance, the International Center for Insurance Regulation, LawFin and the E-Finance Lab, along with university finance and economics departments.
What is SAFE in Frankfurt?
SAFE is the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research at the House of Finance. SAFE researches financial markets, banks, household finance, macro finance and financial law, and publishes policy papers through its Policy Center.
Does the House of Finance hold public events?
The House of Finance hosts conferences such as The ECB and Its Watchers, the CFS Presidential Lectures and ILF conferences, and its institutes run lectures and workshops through the year, with dates published on the respective institute websites.
House of Finance Frankfurt and Finance Loop
Finance Loop reports on finance research from Frankfurt, such as the CFS survey on the digital euro, and works with the Frankfurt School Centre for Digital Economics as a partner. Finance Loop events connect researchers with the banks, supervisors and fintechs that use their work.
Finance Loop is a professional network supporting the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.