8th FinGeo International Seminar
2nd - 3rd February 2026 - Bologna (Italy)
Contemporary Advances
in Financial Geography
Main Venue @ University of Bologna
Palazzo Marescotti Brazzetti, via Barberie 4 - Bologna
Registration Link: [Link]
In collaboration with:
Studio Tributario e Societario
[Link]
Main Journal partner: Journal of Finance & Space
[Link]
1
PROGRAMME
Updates @ 28.01.2026
Sunday, 1st February 2026
18:30 -20:30 FinGeo School & FinGeo Seminar Joint Social Aperitivo*
Venue: Italian Yunus Foundation, Via D’Azeglio 48, Bologna
*Italian aperitivo is a pre-dinner drink with light snacks and small starters/tapas,
meant for relaxing and socializing --- free for participants
Monday, 2nd February 2026
From 8:30 Registration & Welcome Coffee
Venue: University of Bologna, Palazzo Marescotti Brazzetti, via Barberie 4 – Bologna
9:00 - 9:45 Opening Remarks
Aula • SOHNS Franziska – FinGeo Chair & Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
Marescotti
• HARDY Sally – Interim Advisor to the Board, Regional Studies Association (RSA)
• PALETTA Angelo – Director, Department of Management, University of Bologna
• TRIVISANO Carlo – Director, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Bologna
• MAGNANI Elisa – Professor of Geography at the University of Bologna and member of the National University
Council (CUN)
9:45 - 11:15 Parallel Session A – Geography, Finance, Social & Local Development
Aula Chair & Discussant: JAFRI Juvaria – University of East Anglia (UK) & IOANNOU Stefanos - Oxford Brookes
Donatoni University (UK)
• Banking Practices and Local Financial Ecosystems – PONGPECH Swisa, University of Oxford (UK)
• The Utopian Project of Social Finance: Merging Financial Profits and Social Good as the Only Way Forward –
KAUSHAL Tanushree, Geneva Graduate Institute & University of Bern (Switzerland)
• Intersectional Geographies of Money: Finance, Belonging, and Technology in the Lives of Black Migrant
Women – PRINCEWILL Tamunodein, Loughborough University (UK)
• From concept to practice: a framework proposal to analyse peripheral local financial centres, with evidence
from the Basque Country – GIL DE SAN VICENTE Ibon, University of Deusto (Spain)
• Digital Dollarisation in Venezuela: Social Meaning, Inequalities, and Governance – ROBINS Daniel, University
of Oxford (UK)
• The Glocal Politics of Climate Finance Instruments Mediating Sustainability, Profit seeking and Justice in
European Climate Lending to Indian Metro Rails - HAUFE Paula, Witten/Herdecke University (Germany)
2
9:45 -11:15 Parallel Session B – Geography, Finance & Environmental and Social
Sustainability
Aula
Marescotti Chair & Discussant: CORRADI Marco Claudio, ESSEC Paris & Singapore & SOHNS Franziska – FinGeo Chair
& Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
• Situating the roles of the Belgian state in financing climate transition – LA GIOIA Adriano, Université Libre de
Bruxelles (Belgium)
• Financialization of Water in Brazil – ZAMBIASI Tamara, University of Cambridge (UK)
• On the Blue Wave: Liquidity, Derisking, and the Making of Oceanic Frontiers – ROSSI Caterina, Queen Mary
University of London (UK) & CONTI Tommaso, Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy)
• Quantifying Granular Supply-Demand Mismatch and Credit Risk Heterogeneity in Indian Cities using Earth
Observation Data – GUPTA Nakul, Management Development Institute Gurgaon (India)
• Adaptation to Expected Water Availability in Water-Intensive Crop Acreage: Evidence from the Murray-
Darling Basin Water Cap and Trade Market – EHRENHOFER Fabio, University of Bologna (Italy)
• From Racialized Geographies to Financial Markets: Sustainable Finance and the Rise of the Socially
Responsible Landlord - KADIOGLU Defne, Malmö University (Sweden)
9:45 -11:15 Parallel Session C – Geography, Finance & Technology advances
Chair & Discussant: HYSAJ Yllka, Imperial College London (UK) & LAI Karen, Durham University (UK)
Aula Ferrero
• Financialised Infrastructures of Intelligence: Data Centres and Resource Politics in the UK and Spain –
YÜRÜK, Aslı, University of Open Catalonia (Spain)
• Spatial Dynamics of the FinTech Industry in Poland: An Evolutionary Perspective – SMOLIAR Iuliia,
Jagiellonian University, Doctoral School of Social Sciences (Poland)
• How Technological Innovation Shapes the Future of Mobile Payments: A Systematic Literature Review -
NGUYEN Chi, Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
• Finance Research Regarding Cashback Programmes: The Usage of Cuenta DNI Virtual Wallet in Mercado
Morón (Buenos Aires, Argentina) – GARCIA TARSIA Aldana, CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones
Científicas y Técnicas) (Argentina)
• Digital Transformation and Financial Geography: Spatial Spillovers and Regional Financial Ecosystems in
Europe – COLAMARTINO Chiara, BARONE Marco, BUSSOLI Candida, University LUM “Giuseppe Degennaro” &
TOMA Pierluigi, University of Salento (Italy)
11:15 -11:40 Healthy Break
3
11:40 -13:00 1st Plenary Session – Why does place and space matter in finance?
Chair: BASSENS David, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Aula
Marescotti
• Intro Speech: The impact of tariffs in the global financial context – GHETTI Paolo and SCALA Nicola, STS
Deloitte (Italy)
• Intro Speech: Institutional Investors and Cooperative Enterprises: the Marcora Italian Law & Insights from
the CFI Experience – FRANGI Mauro, CFI Cooperazione Finanza Impresa - Cooperation Finance Entreprise
(Italy)
• Intro Speech: The economic growth of places and the Cooperative Credit Banks, Rural and Artisan Banks –
SANTABARBARA Luca, Federcasse - Italian Federation of Cooperative Credit Banks - Rural and Artisan Banks
(Italy)
• Diversifying the UK Lending Base for small businesses. The role of FinTech - IOANNOU Stefanos, Oxford
Brookes University (UK)
• Beta Convergence Analysis of Banks' Branches Distance. A Micro Level Examination of Spatial Dynamics –
ALGERI Carmelo, MUSSONI Maurizio, PATUELLI Roberto, TORLUCCIO Giuseppe, University of Bologna (Italy)
• State-Mediated Financialisation and the Expansion of Capital Markets in Brazil – TAIXEIRA ALVES AFFONSO
Claudia, University of Campinas & University of São Paulo (Brazil)
• Financing for China's rapid urbanization: A revisit from the state-led (de-) financialization perspective – PAN
Fenghua, Beijing Normal University (China)
Q&A and discussion
13:00 -14:15 Light lunch & networking
14:15 -16:00 2nd Plenary Session – The Green and Digital Turn: Drivers and Backlashes
Aula
Marescotti Chair: GRANDI Silvia, University of Bologna & National Research Council of Italy (CNR-Igag) (Italy)
• Intro Speech: Sustainable Finance and European Union regulations – FERRAIS Luca, Department of the
Treasury, Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy)
• Intro Speech: The effects of fiscal incentives for the green economy – SOTERA Andrea, Deloitte STS (Italy)
• Antitrust, Climate Initiatives, and Geoeconomic Fragmentation in Global Finance – CORRADI Marco Claudio,
Essec Business School Paris & Singapore
• Global Digital Technology Networks: A Geographical Political Economy Framework – BASSENS David, Vrije
Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) and GROTE Michael, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Germany)
• The Geography of Everyday Banking: Unbundling, Access, and Resilience – SONEA Andra, University of
Warwick (UK) – FinGeo PhD Prize award 2025
Q&A and discussion
4
16:00-16:30 Family Picture in Palazzo Marescotti steps & Coffee & Tea Break
16:30 -17:30 3rd Session – Unveiling uncodified and emerging sustainable finance practices and
Aula opportunities
Marescotti
Chair: TORLUCCIO Giuseppe, University of Bologna (Italy)
• Intro Speech: The climate-biodiversity-pollution nexus in the pricing of environmental credit risks – PETRACCO
GIUDICI Marco, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EU)
• Covert Leverage: Philanthropy’s Quiet Influence in Shaping Ecosystem Futures – RUDD Kate, University of York
(UK)
• European Cohesion Policy and NRRP for sustainable development – COLETTI Raffaella, National Research
Council of Italy (CNR- Issirfa) (Italy)
Q&A and discussion
17:30 -19:30 Networking opportunities or free time
19:30 -21:30 Social dinner (optional)
Tuesday, 3rd February 2026
9:00 -10:15 Parallel Session D – Geography, Urban Development & Real Estate
Aula
Donatoni
Chairs: PAN Fenghua, Beijing Normal University (China) & TAIXEIRA ALVES AFFONSO Claudia, University of
Campinas & University of São Paulo (Brasil)
• Ownership, Control, and Financialization: Real Estate Business Groups and Investment Managers in Brazil –
NAKAMA Vinicius, University of São Paulo (Brazil)
• Readjustment Zone Expansion, Land Value Capture Financing, and the Logistical Techniques of Urban
Development: The Case of Taichung’s Urban Land Readjustment – YAN Zhi-Jun Jerry, University of FengChia
(Taiwan)
• Between Closures and Reopenings: The Economic and Geographic Restructuring of Shopping FIIs in Brazil
Post-COVID-19 – MACHIAVELLI Pollyana, Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Estadual de
São Paulo (Brazil)
• Financialization, Ownership, and the Political Ecology of Just Transition in Rural Ireland – BENCEKOVIC Sara,
Dublin City University (Ireland)
• Fuelling the construction boom in Africa: Finance, Real Estate and Materials – CHOPLIN Armelle, University of
Geneva (Switzerland)
5
9:00 -10:15 Parallel Session E – Geopolitics, Geoeconomics & Geofinance
Aula Chair & Discussant: PETRACCO GIUDICI Marco, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EU) &
Marescotti
GROTE Michael, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Germany)
• Financial centres and service hinterlands: an analysis of Chinese domestic financial centres – FANG Cheng,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
• Financial geography of Eurasia: key research agenda in the economic transformation of the region – DOLGOVA
Alena, International Advisory Group on the creation of an International Financial Centre in Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
• Not Periphery but Center: Latam as a Laboratory of Monetary and Financial Experimentation. Insights from
Argentina – PERTUSI Juliana, Flacso (Argentina)
• State-led financialization in China: Governing through financial technocrats – ZHANG Xuchen, Beijing Normal
University (China)
• Energy Transition Metals in Southeast Asia: Are These the Bottleneck? – MRÓZ Maciej, Warsaw School of
Economics (Poland)
9:00 -10:15 Parallel Session F – Spatial patterns and mapping in financial geography
Aula Chair & Discussant: SONEA Andra, University of Warwick (UK) & ALGERI Carmelo, Università di Bologna
Ferrero
(Italy)
• Solar Energy Risks: Spatial Stochastic Radiation Modeling and Optimal Hedging Strategies – SARTINI
Beniamino, University of Bologna (Italy)
• Mischief Managed: Mapping Varieties of Wealth Managers in Offshore Finance – STAUSHOLM Saila,
Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)
• Spatial Distribution of Corporate and Municipal Bond Issuance in Poland at the NUTS-3 Level – WĘGRZYN
Paweł, SGH Warsaw School of Economics (Poland)
• Rental System Legacies and Rounds of Investments—How Institutional Investors Have Entered Local Rental
Markets in Sweden – GUSTAFSSON Jennie, Malmö university (Sweden)
• Mapping Consolidation: Spatial Patterns in the Italian Banking Industry - DE ROSA Antonio Maria, GREEN -
Università Bocconi (Italy)
10:15 -10:45 Meet the editors of Finance & Space
Aula
Marescotti Coordinated by
BASSENS David, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
and Finance & Space Deputy Editor in Chief
10:45 -11:15 Coffee Break
6
11:15 -13:00 4th Plenary Round Table – Trends in Financial Geography
Aula Chair: SOHNS Franziska, FinGeo Chair & Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
Marescotti
(blended format & visible online*)
• Intro Speech: The Year Ahead: Key Determinants and Perspectives for the 2026 Financial System,
RAMENGHI Matteo, UBS Wealth Management
Round table with:
• TORLUCCIO Giuseppe, University of Bologna (Italy)
• GROTE Michael, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Germany)
• LAI Karen, Durham University (UK)°
• PAN Fenghua, Beijing Normal University (China)
• LA FORESTA Daniela, University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy)°
• TAIXEIRA ALVES AFFONSO Claudia, University of Campinas & University of São Paulo (Brazil)
• DÖRRY Sabine, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) (Luxemburg) °
• BASSENS David, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
• WÓJCIK Dariusz – National University of Singapore (Singapore)°
Open discussion with in-presence & online participants
Closing Remarks: Contemporary advances in Financial Geography
Is the ‘Chief Geofinancial Officer’ an emerging strategic asset?
• GRANDI Silvia, University of Bologna, Uninettuno & National Research Council of Italy (CNR-Igag)
(Italy)
13:00 -14:30 Lunch (optional)
14:30 -17:00 Post-Seminar Visits to the University of Bologna
& Bologna’s Financial Heritage Sites
* Please register @ [Link] to receive the link
7
Scientific Committee
• Carmelo Algeri – University of Bologna, Italy
• Claudia Affonso – University of Campinas & University of São Paulo, Brasil
• Daniela La Foresta – Univeristy of Naples “Federico II”, Italy
• Dariusz Wójcik – National University of Singapore, Singapore
• David Bassens – VU Brussels, Belgium
• Fabio Contiel – University of São Paulo, Brasil
• Fenghua Pan – Beijing Normal University, China
• Franziska Sohns – Anglia Ruskin University, UK& FinGeo Chair
• Giuseppe Torluccio – University of Bologna and Italian Yunus Foundation, Italy
• Gordon Tan – Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore & FinGeo Secretary
• Juvaria Jafri – University of East Anglia, UK
• Karen Lai – Durham University, UK
• Marco Claudio Corradi – ESSEC Business School Paris & Singapore
• Marco Petracco Giudici – Joint Research Center, European Commission
• Michael H. Grote – Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Germany
• Sabine Dorry – Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), Luxembourg
• Silvia Grandi – University of Bologna, Uninettuno and National Research Council of Italy (CNR-Igag), Italy
• Stefanos Ioannou – Oxford Brookes University, UK
• Yllka Hysaj – Imperial College London, UK
Local Organising Committee
• Silvia Grandi – University of Bologna, Uninettuno and National Research Council of Italy (CNR-Igag)
• Giuseppe Torluccio – University of Bologna & Italian Yunus Foundation
• Carmelo Algeri – University of Bologna
• Chiara Carone – University of Bologna
• Davide Verrocchi – Italian Yunus Foundation
• Pietro Fochi – University of Bologna
• Riccardo Sidoti – University of Bologna
With the collaboration of:
• Department of Management, University of Bologna
• Regional Studies Association (RSA)
• Finance & Space
• STS Deloitte
Under the patronage of:
• AGeI – Italian Association of Geographers - [Link]
• SSG – Italian Society of Geographical studies - [Link]
• Geoprogress Editions - [Link]