Euroshock is the inside story of the unprecedented restructuring of Greece’s debt in 2012—the largest restructuring in history—and how the Eurozone was stabilized and Greece was saved from exit from the Euro and economic calamity. In the fall of 2009, the world economy was beginning to recover from the global financial crisis that had shaken global markets and had led to a sharp recession. At the same time, Europe was entering a new phase of economic stress. By the spring of 2011, the European economy had exploded into a full-blown crisis with Greece at the center. The euro, a currency just over a decade old, was under severe pressure and there was growing speculation about Greece leaving the Eurozone and thereby fracturing the common currency, leading potentially to an unraveling of the euro. Against this backdrop, urgent negotiations were launched to pull Greece and Europe back from the brink of disaster. This is the inside story of those negotiations.

Dr. Charles H. Dallara will review some of the key economic factors which contributed to this crisis in Europe, discuss some of the lessons learned for Greece, for Europe, for the IMF, and for more advanced economies facing debt and deficit challenges. In this context he will discuss questions and concerns regarding the US, French, and Japanese economies. In addition, Dr. Dallara will address current global economic and geopolitical trends.

Dr. Dallara is Chairman of the Board of Partners Group (USA) and an Advisory Partner focused on client relationships. He is a member of the Board of the Middle East Investment Initiative and a director at large of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan & Co. In addition, he held the following positions in the George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan administrations: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Policy Development and Senior Advisor for Policy to the Secretary of the Treasury, United States Executive Director of the IMF, and, concurrently, Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economic Policy and US Alternate Executive Director at the IMF. In 2011 and 2012, he led the Greek debt restructuring, the largest restructuring in history. 

Doors open at 6:00 pm. Dinner is served from 6:15 pm. The presentation starts at 7:15 pm. Dinner includes coffee or tea and one beverage of choice including orange juice, oolong tea, white wine, red wine and beer. Price: 3,000 yen for members/4,000 yen for non-members. Cancellations accepted up to 72 hours before the event. Please reserve at the reception desk or by email (front@fccj.or.jp). Non-members must pay by Thursday, September 12th, 2024.

Online attendance (via Zoom) is available at 550 yen per person, by reservation.

Attendees with food restrictions should inform the club when reserving.

Thank you.

(The talk will be in English)

Library, Archives & Workroom Committee