Person:
Pollner, John Daniel

Private and Financial Sector Development Department, Europe and Central Asia Region
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Fields of Specialization
bank insolvency and resolution tools; catastrophe insurance and financial instruments; private/funded pension systems; structured finance and securitization (capital markets); Latin America; Eastern Europe; Central/East Asia
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ORCID
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Private and Financial Sector Development Department, Europe and Central Asia Region
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Last updated: January 31, 2023
Biography
John Pollner is Lead Financial Officer (Financial & Risk Markets) in the Private and Financial Sector Department of the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank.  He specializes in policy analysis and projects in the new EU member states involving banking insolvency/bankruptcy, resolution and restructuring, capital market development and securitization, private sector pension reforms & annuities markets, and catastrophe insurance programs for hedging fiscal losses from natural peril risks, the latter area where he pioneered the design and use of risk transfer mechanisms.  Mr. Pollner is a national of both the US and Chile, and has an MBA / Finance degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Structured Finance in Latin America : Channeling Pension Funds to Housing, Infrastructure, and Small Businesses
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) Cheikhrouhou, Hela; Gwinner, W. Britt; Pollner, John; Salinas, Emanuel; Sirtaine, Sophie; Vittas, Dimitri
    The report covers several types of structured finance with such capital market instruments as mortgage-backed securities, structured bond issues for infrastructure financing, securitization of small and medium enterprises (SME)-related assets, and securitization of loans to SMEs. The report also covers factoring and leasing, which can be important sources of finance for SMEs and can be pooled and packaged into marketable securities and sold to pension funds. The report does not cover other types of structured finance, such as exchange trade funds, structured notes with capital protection, or structured financing outside capital markets, such as bank syndications. Chapter 1 focuses on private pension fund investment management and the role of structured bonds. Chapter 2 focuses on the increasing use of structured finance for housing in Latin American countries. Chapter 3 deals with the less developed yet promising area of structured bonds for infrastructure financing. Chapter 4 focuses on the use of structured bonds for SME finance, still in the experimental stage. The report discusses the role of the government in supporting small and medium loan securitizations through partial guarantees (as in Spain) to share the risk of borrower default and through the development of an SME securitization conduit (as in Germany).
  • Publication
    Russian Federation Capital Markets : Analysis and Diagnosis of the Financial Regulatory and Institutional Policies Required for Becoming an International Financial Center
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06) Pollner, John D.
    There should be two principal goals in developing Russia as a financial center: a) attracting more of the financial business of large enterprises and of the wealthy, which now largely goes abroad to other international financial centers; and b) serving the needs of small and medium enterprises and small investors in Russia, needs that are now largely unmet. Advancing the second goal would help to advance the first goal by broadening the diversity in securities market funding as well as firm issuance possibilities. Financial centers exhibit benefits of scale. Better serving the need of Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) and small investors would increase both the supply of securities and the demand for securities in Moscow. An increased volume and liquidity of transactions will make Moscow a more competitive financial center, thereby attracting more of the business of large enterprises and the wealthy that currently goes elsewhere. Finally, the above actions will constitute the necessary conditions to have the key elements for developing a significant financial center. They may not be all sufficient measures however. Non-financial market factors such as a suitable macroeconomic environment, efficient city transport facilities, reasonable housing availability, education facilities for foreigners, and a streamlined and transparent business regulatory environment all constitute key ancillary aspects supporting the growth and broader operating environment of international financial centers.
  • Publication
    Financial and Fiscal Instruments for Catastrophe Risk Management : Addressing Losses From Flood Hazards In Central Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia)
    (World Bank, 2011-07-01) Pollner, John D.
    This report addresses the large flood exposures of Central Europe and proposes efficient financial and risk transfer mechanisms to mitigate fiscal losses from natural catastrophes.. The report is primarily addressed to the governments of the region which should build into their fiscal planning, the necessary contingent funding mechanisms, based on their exposures. While there exist pan-European mechanisms such as the EU Solidarity Fund to help EU members fund mega disasters, these only kick in at extremely high loss levels. Given these issues, the Governments of the V-4 countries should consider it a priority to set up risk transfer mechanisms to reduce fiscal volatility following natural catastrophes. The private sector insurance markets in the V-4 countries appear adequate and reflect rather high levels of penetration in the economy and in the housing sector. Economic and fiscal analyses based on global data also show that countries with insurance mechanisms and markets show a stronger GDP recovery path and lower fiscal deficits following a disaster. However, the V-4 countries, having a common hazard of flood, are in a unique position to develop highly cost effective flood insurance mechanisms. As countries in general are more concerned with supplemental fiscal resources rather than individual property losses, the governments of the V-4 countries can consider parametric style contracts. Nevertheless, risk transfer or insurance mechanisms are not the only types that need to be considered. The analysis in this report is meant to show, besides the financial mechanisms that would be beneficial for risk management, what large catastrophe exposures exist and their relation to government finances and macroeconomic measures. Following a final phase of feasibility analysis and market testing, the V-4 countries should thus consider establishing a multi-country insurance pool to provide fast emergency funding after disasters.