* 1  *  *  Introduction  Ladies and gentlemen I wish to extend a warm welcome to you at this conference dinner on the occasion of the joint Bundesbank-CEPR-CFS conference here in Frankfurt.
The many aspects of credit risk transfer (CRT) that you addressed in your research papers – from the pricing of subprime mortgage risk through to counterparty risk in financial contracts – reveal just how broad and complex this topic is. And the current financial turmoil provides striking confirmation of how relevant this topic is, as CRT may adversely affect financial stability.