DePaul University’s finance department will sponsor two panel discussions in February about the financial crisis that continues to wallop America’s wallets.

On Feb. 23, The Arditti Center for Risk Management at DePaul will host a discussion titled “The Recent Financial Crisis: Market Risk and Sovereign Risk. What is the Outlook?” Four panelists will analyze the effects of transferring risks from the private sector to the central banks, including the potential for currency and sovereign debt devaluation and equity and debt market volatility.

Scheduled panelists are: Hesna Genay, senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; Adolfo L. Laurenti, senior economist, Mesirow Financial; Ed Lees, managing partner, Excelsior Capital Management, LLC; and Levoyd Robinson, co-founder, Chicago Fundamental Investments, LLC. David Villa, chief investment officer, State of Wisconsin Investment Board, will moderate the discussion, which begins at 4 p.m. in Room 8205 of the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. 

On Feb. 24, DePaul’s Center for Financial Services will present “Rational Portfolios in an Irrational World,” an offering from its Quarterly Investment Strategy Update Series. The event will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Room 8005 of the DePaul Center, with refreshments following at 5 p.m. 

Moderator Werner F.M. De Bondt, professor of finance and director of the Driehaus Center for Behavioral Finance at DePaul, will lead the discussion, which will feature three panelists: Jeremy Baskin, senior vice president, Northern Trust Global Investors, and global head, Quantitative Active & Balanced Index Management; Aaron Gurwitz, chief investment officer, Barclays Wealth Americas; and Michael Kimbarovsky, principal, Advocate Asset Management.

Both events are free and open to the public, but space is limited and reservations encouraged. To register, contact Kelly Glenn at  kglenn2@depaul.edu or at (312)362-7531.