The House of Finance (HoF for short) brings together various interdisciplinary research and further education institutions from the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Business and Economics at Goethe University. These include an institute of the Leibniz Association, [1] private-law subsidiaries such as the Goethe Business School and the Institute for Law and Finance as well as alumni associations of the university.
Founded in 2008 and based on the Westend Campus in the Westend district of the city of Frankfurt am Main, the House of Finance is home to several research and further education institutes, both university-based and legally independent, in the fields of finance, financial law and insurance. [2] Its first two Managing Directors were professor Dr Paul Bernd Spahn (2006-08) and professor Dr Wolfgang König (2008-22). They had a significant impact on the history of this institution. [3] [4] In addition to academic institutions, several alumni associations of Goethe University are also based in the House of Finance. These include, for example, the university-affiliated Goethe Finance Association [5] and the university-independent Goethe Club [6]
Goethe University founded the House of Finance gemeinnützige GmbH (non-profit LLC under German law) in 2009 and a House of Finance Foundation in March 2011, the proceeds of which are intended to benefit research, further education and policy transfer at the House of Finance. [7] President of the board of trustees of the House of Finance is Otmar Issing. The non-profit LLC was liquidated in 2015.
The House of Finance building, which stands out in particular for its interior design, was built with funds from the state of Hesse, while some of the furnishings were subsidised by sponsors. The institutes working in the House of Finance are also partly funded by the university and partly by private sponsors. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the House of Finance is Axel A. Weber.
Overall, the House of Finance is an increasingly interdisciplinary centre at which around 200 academics, including around 40 professors, work. They belong to the university departments of Goethe University located in the House of Finance:
Many publications by associated scholars have appeared in top international journals, such as the American Economic Review , the Journal of Finance , the Journal of Financial Economics and the Journal of Banking and Finance , and also extend in many German legal commentaries and monographs.
According to the survey by the German business journal Handelsblatt in 2012, Goethe University's Business Administration Department ranks seventh among all comparable departments in German speaking countries. [8] In 2013 the Department of Economics ranks seventh. [9] According to the Handelsblatt ranking 2013 House of Finance researcher Roman Inderst is the best performing economic researcher in all German speaking countries. [10]
As part of an alliance with the Goethe University, Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and Technical University of Darmstadt, the Graduate School of Economics, Finance, and Management (GSEFM) at the House of Finance runs structured PhD programs that enable graduates to engage in new fields of research and to pursue careers in academia.
The Goethe Business School (GBS) and the Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) offer education and training programs that combine an international outreach with a practical approach. Their objective is to mainstream state-of-the-art research findings in policy-making activities.
Within the House of Finance, the following programs are currently offered:
The House of Finance is committed to incorporating the latest research findings into policy-making activities. For this reason, the SAFE "Policy Center" in the House of Finance aims at disseminating research findings to decision makers in politics, regulation, and administration in Germany and Europe.
Furthermore, the House of Finance institutions organize a variety of events and forums that communicate know-how and facilitate exchanges of experience. The Presidential Lectures of the Center for Financial Studies along with the Distinguished Lectures of the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability are examples of House of Finance’s knowledge transfer activities.
On 30 May 2008, the House of Finance relocated to a new building. Its new building is on the Westend campus of Goethe University. The building was designed by the architectural firm "Kleihues + Kleihues". The Westend campus is characterized by the I.G. Farben building by architect Hans Poelzig, whose external appearance is characterized by a perforated façade in the New Objectivity style and the extensive use of travertine and is therefore stylistically close to neoclassicism. In keeping with this, the House of Finance, like the other new buildings on the campus, also follows classicist stylistic principles. The front and side façades are strongly gridded and strictly axially symmetrical; they are each divided into three sections with building corners that are emphasized by narrower windows and by central bays that open outwards with larger windows. The window openings themselves are emphasized by profiled jambs. The windows and wall surfaces are coordinated in such a way as to achieve a continuous grid of joints in the natural stone cladding.
Inside, the building is characterized on the upper floors by individual offices and combined zones for scientists and students, in which both individual and communal use is possible. This made it possible to achieve a high density of usable space. Seminar rooms are located at the top of the building on the upper floors.
Upon entering the building, a spacious, naturally lit foyer opens up on the first floor, adjoining the lecture halls and seminar rooms as well as the information center - a reference library. The floor, walls and ceiling of the foyer echo the design grid of the entire building, which is inspired by Raphael's fresco The School of Athens, which is particularly evident in the floor design. The building also houses computer rooms on the first floor, a data room [11] with Bloomberg terminals and a public café of the Frankfurt am Main Student Union (Studentenwerk Frankfurt am Main) named after the sponsor as Börsen-Zeitung-Bistro.
Non-independent associations
The House of Finance is home to many different institutions. Most of them are academic research institutes and other institutions that are either directly linked to the university administration or are independent.
Among the most important and largest non-academic institutions within the House of Finance you can find the Goethe Finance Association [12] which was founded by professors of the faculty of economics and business administration of the Goethe University. [13] This organisation is rum mostly by professors of the Goethe University.
The department of economics and business administration, [14] to which the House of Finance belongs, includes the most important institution, the Frankfurter Wirtschaftswissenachaftliche Gesellschaft (Frankfurt business and economics society) which is not formally based in the House of Finance but uses the building for events. This organisation is mostly run by alumni of the Goethe University.
The Goethe Money and Macro Association (GMMA) is an alumni association at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Goethe University. Founded with the aim of promoting research and teaching in the fields of money and currency, GMMA offers its members a platform for enhanced interaction between academia and industry. [15]
Independent associations
The Goethe Club, a universal student, staff and alumni club for each faculty run by its members, is based in the House of Finance. The Goethe Club is a neutral, independent and non-profit association for the promotion of education, culture and science and the associated international exchange and networking of all current and former members of Goethe University. Founded in 1997, it focuses on pluralistic further education and the application of all subjects in theory and practice in cooperation with institutions from all fields. The association offers a sustainable private and professional network, social and cultural activities, international contacts and exclusive career opportunities. In this way, the Goethe Club fosters the bond with Goethe University.
Goethe University Frankfurt is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt. The original name in German was Universität Frankfurt am Main. In 1932, the university's name was extended in honour of one of the most famous native sons of Frankfurt, the poet, philosopher and writer/dramatist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The university currently has around 45,000 students, distributed across four major campuses within the city.
The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistently ranks as one of the best business schools in Europe. In 2022, it had 9,590 students, of which 3,757 were master's students and 584 were doctoral students.
The University of Regensburg is a public research university located in the city of Regensburg, Germany. The university was founded on 18 July 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria. Following groundbreaking in 1965, the university officially opened to students during the 1967–1968 winter semester, initially housing faculties in Law and Business Sciences and Philosophy. During the summer semester of 1968 the faculty of Theology was created. Currently, the University of Regensburg houses eleven faculties.
EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, more commonly referred to as EBS Universität or simply EBS, is a state-recognized private research university specializing in the disciplines of business and law. The university is located in Wiesbaden and Oestrich-Winkel, Germany. EBS is considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions for law and business studies in the German-speaking world, being particularly renowned in the finance and consulting industry.
The University of Mannheim, abbreviated UMA, is a public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the Palatine Academy of Sciences, which was established by Elector Carl Theodor at Mannheim Palace in 1763, as well as the Handelshochschule, which was founded in 1907.
The University of Hagen is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the university maintains more than 50 study and research centers in Germany and throughout Europe. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, it is Germany's second-largest university. The university was founded in 1974 as a public research university by the state Nordrhein-Westfalen and began its research and teaching activities in 1975. It was founded following the idea of UK's Open University to provide higher and continuing education opportunities through a distance education system in Germany.
Axel Alfred Weber is a German economist, professor, and banker. He is currently a board member and chairman of Swiss investment bank and financial services company, UBS Group AG, and has announced his resignation effective 7 April 2022.
Rudolf Steinberg is professor emeritus for public law and from 2000 to 2008 was president of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt.
The I.G. Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the Westend Campus of the University of Frankfurt. Construction began in 1928 and was complete in 1930 as the corporate headquarters of the I.G. Farben conglomerate, then the world's largest chemical company and the world's fourth-largest company overall.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy is an independent, non-profit economic research institute and think tank based in Kiel, Germany. In 2017, it was ranked as one of the top 50 most influential think tanks in the world and was also ranked in the top 15 in the world for economic policy specifically. German business newspaper, Handelsblatt, referred to the institute as "Germany's most influential economic think tank", while Die Welt, stated that "The best economists in the world are in Kiel".
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is a private university with a right to award doctorates, recognized under Hesse's Higher Education Act. The parent organization is the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Foundation. Frankfurt School has a second campus in HafenCity in Hamburg, a study center in Munich and a further study location in Düsseldorf, as well as offices in developing and emerging countries in cities such as Nairobi and Amman.
Goethe Business School gGmbH (GBS) is a subsidiary of Goethe University Frankfurt. Goethe Business School was founded 2004 and offers, in close cooperation with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, a wide range of education for executives and young professionals.
The Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) is a graduate school which was established as a non-profit foundation in 2002 by Goethe University Frankfurt am Main with the support of many prominent institutions. Leading commercial banks and international law firms, the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the City of Frankfurt and the State of Hesse, as well as the European Central Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank are actively involved in the ILF right from the planning stages until today. The ILF provides interdisciplinary training to lawyers, senior management and executives in Germany and worldwide and serves as a policy center in the legislative process by offering forums for discussions and exchanges between academia and practitioners.
The Center for Financial Studies (CFS), located in Frankfurt am Main, is an independent research institute affiliated to the Goethe University. CFS conducts independent and internationally oriented research on important topics in finance. It serves as a forum for dialogue between academia, policy makers and the financial industry. It also provides a platform for high-level basic as well as applied research of relevance to the European financial sector.
The Graduate School of Economics, Finance, and Management (GSEFM), based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is a graduate school offering quantitative and research-oriented graduate-level education programs. It was attended by 250 selected students in 2013.
Roman Inderst is a German economist who holds the chair for finance and economics at the Goethe University Frankfurt. His research interests include corporate finance, banking, competition policy, and information economics. According to the Handelsblatt, Inderst is the most influential German-speaking economist.
Albrecht Dietz was a German entrepreneur and scientist who founded the first leasing company in Germany. He was considered to be one of the pioneers and founding fathers of the German leasing industry. His publications on economic subjects ranged from leasing and corporate management to institutions and evolutionary economics.
Birgitta Wolff is a German economist and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as minister of education and culture and as minister of research and economy in the state government of Saxony-Anhalt from 2010 to 2013, and as president of the Goethe University Frankfurt from 2015 to 2020.
Elke König is a German MBA in Business and auditor. From January 2012, she was president of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin); in December 2014, she became the first Chair of the newly established Single Resolution Board (SRB) of the Single Resolution Mechanism headquartered in Brussels. She served as Chair of the SRB until January 2023, when her second term expired.
Enrico Schleiff is a German biologist and physicist, and the president of the Goethe University Frankfurt, serving since 1 January 2021.
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