120 papers were submitted in connection with the conference and therefore competing for the SWX Best Paper Award. The papers were judged in a multi-stage procedure by about sixty internationally recognised specialist reviewers.
In his eulogy, Prof. Markus Rudolf, chairman of the SGF conference, explained the reasons for choosing the winners and what the special qualities of their papers are. The paper by Demchuk and Gibson is about credit risk, which is a highly relevant issue in connection with the debate surrounding Basle II. The authors succeed in explaining credit spreads, and hence the valuation of corporate bonds, in terms of the development of the equity market. The paper helps one to understand credit risks and their relationship with the equity market. The award distinguishes a strong theoretical paper.
The paper by Bannier belongs to a completely different category. It is an empirical analysis of the Mexican currency crisis of 1994 and 1995. The paper is highly relevant because the author demonstrates that the crisis was caused by the unclear policy of the central bank. Although the incident took place more than ten years ago, Bannier's analysis helps one to gain a much better understanding of currency risks.
Jürg Spillmann, Head of the SWX Group Executive Committee, emphasised the high importance of basic financial-market research to the financial marketplace.
