Job Market Profile

Iftekhar Ahmed - Ph.D. Candidate

I am a final year Ph.D. candidate in Finance at the Otago Business School, University of Otago, New Zealand. My research focuses on the connectedness of climate change and financial risk. Therefore, I invoke a mix of cross-discipline techniques, from advanced applied econometrics, credit risk analysis, spatial modelling, and financial stress testing.

My interests lie in financial economics of climate and energy, environmental macroeconomics, sustainable banking and investment.

Availability: November 2021, and thereafter. I am available for interview now.

Job Market Papers

Expand or Avoid: Microfinance Credit Risk and Climate Vulnerability, with Ivan Diaz-Rainey, Helen Roberts and Dung Thuy Thi Nguyen, Under-review, 2021, 0(0), 0-0
Presentation:
- 7th International Young Finance Scholar's Conference 2021.
- 3rd JRC Summer School on Sustainable Finance 2021.
- He Kaupapa Hononga: Otago's Climate Change Research Network Postgrad Seminar 2021.
- 25th Annual New Zealand Finance Colloquium 2021.
- 1st CEFGroup Climate Finance Symposium 2020.
- Department of Accountancy and Finance Seminar Series 2020.
Data | Appendix | SSRN | Abstract
This study investigates the association between climate vulnerability, geographic expansion and credit risk in microfinance institution’s (MFIs) loan portfolios. It is motivated by inconclusive evidence concerning the climate vulnerability-bank risk nexus and the geographic expansion-bank risk nexus. Applying system generalized method of moments (GMM) to a sample of global MFIs over the period 1999-2019, we report evidence that climate vulnerability and geographic expansion increase MFI credit risk. The risk is more pronounced for non-shareholder-owned MFIs compared to shareholder-owned MFIs. This suggests MFI expansion into climate prone regions is curtailed in the case of shareholder-owned MFIs to minimize credit risk, overshadowing the microfinance mission to provide banking services to the poorest and the most vulnerable. In addition, we report evidence that climate vulnerability moderates the consequences of geographic diversification in the microfinance industry.

Working Papers

Microfinance’s Climate Distress Risk
- With Ivan Diaz-Rainey and Helen Roberts
SSRN | Abstract

Systemically Important Microfinance Institutions in Climate Change Scenarios
- With Ivan Diaz-Rainey and Helen Roberts
SSRN | Abstract

Climate Stress Test of Social Enterprises
- With Ivan Diaz-Rainey and Helen Roberts
SSRN | Abstract