Prof. Dr. Jens Müller-Merbach

Professor Dr. Jens Müller-Merbach holds a joint Masters' Degree in Business Administration and Electrical Engineering from Technical University of Darmstadt. During his studies he spent nine months working on a research project at Linköping University, Sweden. After completing a doctoral degree (Ph.D. equivalent) from Mannheim University, he began his professional career as portfolio manager and certified exchange trader at a large German utility company. Subsequently he worked as Senior Risk Manager, and following as Team Head of Capital Management at a private bank in Frankfurt. In 2014 he became Head of Regulatory Reporting in the CFO department of an international direct bank. In these roles Jens contributed to several M&A transactions and restructurings. Next to his line functions Jens was in charge of various cross-divisional projects on digitizing financial processes and implementing regulatory requirements.

In 2019 he accepted a professorship in Finance and Accounting at IU International University, Frankfurt Campus, before being appointed Professor of Finance and Digitization at Frankfurt UAS in 2020.

• Müller-Merbach, J. (2009): Bewertung von Termingeschäften auf Elektrizität. Doctoral thesis, Gabler, Wiesbaden. doi: 10.1007/978-3-8349-8355-8
• Müller-Merbach, J. (1996): Simulation of X-ray Projections for Experimental 3D Tomography, Report LiTH-ISY-R-1866, Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, University of Linköping, Sweden, 1996. https://users.isy.liu.se/cvl/maria/take.html

• Müller-Merbach, J. (2013): Großkredite unter Basel III – Bleibt alles anders? Published in: Forderungspraktiker, No. 05-06/2013, pp. 104-108. (German)
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2011): Basel III – Leverage Ratio als Anreiz zur Risikoerhöhung. Published in: Banken-Times, Nov. 2011, pp. 57-58. (German)
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2011): Basel III – Vier Herausforderungen an die Banksteuerung. Published in: Bankpraktiker, No. 11/2011, pp. 392-397. (German)
• Müller-Merbach, J., and Bühler, W. (2009): Risk Premia of Electricity Futures – A Dynamic Equilibrium Model. Published in: Geman, H. (ed.), Risk Management in Commodity Markets, Wiley, Chichester, 2009.

• Müller-Merbach, J., and Bühler, W. (2009): Valuation of Electricity Futures: Reduced-Form vs. Dynamic Equilibrium Models. European Finance Association, 36th Annual Meeting, Bergen, 19–22 Aug. 2009.
• Müller-Merbach, J., and Bühler, W. (2007): Valuation of Electricity Futures: Reduced-Form vs. Dynamic Equilibrium Models. Financial Management Association Conference, Orlando, FL, USA, 17–20 Oct. 2007.
• Müller-Merbach, J., and Bühler, W. (2007): Valuation of Electricity Futures: Reduced-Form vs. Dynamic Equilibrium Models. Conference on Commodities and Energy, Birkbeck, University of London, 17–19 Jan. 2007.
• Müller-Merbach, J., and Bühler, W. (2005): Empirical Testing of Electricity Futures Pricing Models. 12. Annual Meeting of the German Finance Association, Augsburg, 07–08 Oct. 2005.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2000): Bewertungsansätze bei Stromterminprodukten. Symposium Bewertung von Stromterminprodukten, Gesellschaft für Energiewissenschaft und Energiepolitik (GEE), Mannheim, 23 Oct. 2000.

• Müller-Merbach, J. (2024): Does the Basel III Leverage Ratio Impact Banks’ Risk Appetite?College of Economics – WAVE class in Financial Economics, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, 16 April 2024.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2024): Exchange trading – The dark side of power? Financial Planner Days, Frankfurt, 4 March and 15 March 2024.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2024): Sustainable Finance. Speech on the occasion of the awarding of Golden Diplomas to graduates of the class of 1973. Frankfurt UAS, 25 Jan 2024.
• Müller-Merbach, J., Grabia, L. (2023): Blockchain – technology for a more inclusive financial system?, Workshop with the World University Service, 11 Nov 2023.
• Müller-Merbach, J., Simon, M. (2023): Blockchain: technology for a sustainable financial system?, Lecture Series "Blockchain – More Than Just Bitcoin" at Frankfurt UAS, 18 Jan 2023.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2022): Grüne Staatsanleihen – Klimaschutz über die Kapitalmärkte?, MainStudy, 4 July 2022.
• Müller-Merbach, J., Frank, R., Kasemir, B. (2021): Green Finance: Die EU macht ernst, Frankfurter Zukunftskongress, Frankfurt am Main, 24 Feb 2021.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2019): Digitization of Banks' Supervisory Reporting – After Dawn of a New Discipline Some Are Still Asleep, Inspirational Key-Note Speech, Dinner Meeting with the Deputy Director General Statistics of the European Central Bank, 2 April 2019.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2014): Neue Meldeanforderungen und ihre Umsetzung, Vortrag auf der Jahrestagung Rechnungswesen 2014 der Vereinigung für Bankbetriebsorganisation (vbo), Köln, 14 Nov 2014.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2014): Neue Meldeherausforderung Finanzinformationsverordnung (FinaV), Fachtagung Neues Basismeldewesen, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, 19 Feb 2014.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2013): Auswirkungen von Basel III auf die Gesamtbanksteuerung, Fachtagung Knackpunkte CRD IV/CRR, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, 8–9 April 2013.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2012): Auswirkungen von Basel III auf die Gesamtbanksteuerung, Fachtagung Knackpunkte Basel III, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 19–20 Nov 2012.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2012): Auswirkungen von Basel III auf die Gesamtbanksteuerung, Strategie-Fachtagung 2012, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Köln, 26 April 2012.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2012): Auswirkungen von Basel III auf die Gesamtbanksteuerung, Fachtagung Knackpunkte Basel III, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Cologne, 23–24 April 2012.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2012): Auswirkungen der Neuerungen im Meldewesen und Aufsichtsrecht, Fachtagung Neues Meldewesen 2012, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Cologne, 28–29 Feb. 2012.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2011): Auswirkungen von Basel III auf die Gesamtbanksteuerung, Konferenz Strategie-Prozesse, Finanz-Colloquium Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, 28–29 Nov. 2011.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2007): The Market for Balancing Power and Day-After Trading, Workshop with the Polish Association of Energy Trading (Towarzystwo Obrotu Energią), European Energy Exchange (EEX), Leipzig, 6 March 2007.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2005): Koordination von Analyseergebnissen mit dem Bereich Beschaffung. Konferenz Prognose- und Analyseverfahren für Energiewirtschaft und Industrie, Euroforum GmbH, Berlin, 27 Oct 2005.

• Müller-Merbach, J. (2023): Derivatives on Sustainable Assets, Inaugural Lecture, 5 July 2023.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2021): Risk Management, Interview on sustainability in economics, publised in: 2021 Sustainability Report of Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2021 der Frankfurt UAS).
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2020): Solutions for Sustainablity. Panel discussion at the Sustainability Meeting of Frankfurt University of Apploied Sciences on 10 Sept. 2020, Video.
• Müller-Merbach, J. (2011): Großkredite nach GroMiKV und KWG. Review. Published in: Bankpraktiker, No. 10/2011, pp. 379-380.

Preferably, I supervise final theses in the areas of capital markets and corporate finance, esp. sustainable finance, commodity markets, crypto assets, financial fraud, market and banking regulation, cf. the proposed topics listed below. Most of the topics can be assessed within a Bachelor's thesis as well as a Master's thesis, however, expectation on analytical depth and/or coverage differs in such cases; exemptions are indicated.

If you wish to submit your own topic, do not hesitate to contact me. Your first draft should contain the topic and title of the thesis, the objective of your thesis and the research question(s) you aim to answer, and a preliminary list of references. However, a complete proposal is not necessary at this stage. You are also invited to write your thesis in collaboration with a cooperation, in case you have an appropriate contact.

Currently, the following topics are available (as of June 2023, subjects are partially given in German, list to be updated on a case-by-case basis):

• Do Sustainability-focused Corporations Exhibit a Larger RoE? (Master Thesis)
• Implizite Commodity-Derivate in Anleihen als Risikomitigation zwischen Emittent und Investor: Die Roggenanleihen ab 1923 (Diese Arbeit erfordert ggf. Recherche in historischen Archiven.)
• On the efficiency of the conversion factor for the Eurex Bund futues contract in different interest rate regimes
• Agency Costs of German Stock Cooperations or: Long-term Outperformance of Family-Owned Companies.
• Legal Classification of a DAO (esp. for LL.B. students)
• Gender-Pay-Gap of Board Members of Exchange Listed Corporations in Germany
• Design and Performance of Derivatives on Crypto Currencies
• The Market Value of Liquidity – an Analysis of German Real Estate Funds (min. 12 weeks)
• ETF Outperformance in Cases of Recomposition of Stock Indices
• Pillar III disclosure of German banks: National GAAP vs. IFRS since the introduction of Basel III
• Design and Implementation of a Credit Risk Management System for a Utility (in cooperation with a Frankfurt-based utility, Master Thesis)
• Financial Innovations: Risk Analysis and Valuation of So-called "Nachkaufanleihen"
• Virtual Shareholder Meetings: Status Quo and Ongoing Development
• Banking Crisis Reloaded: Is the LCR According to Basel III Still Adequately Calibrated?
• Clearing and Fraud Risks of Metals' Trading
• AI Applications in Financial Institutions – European Regulatory Requirements stemming from BAIT, DORA and the AI Act
• Germany As the "Go-to place" For Money Laundering? Status, Causes and Measures.
• The ESG Bubble: The Case of the ETF iShares Global Clean Energy

Works in progress:

• Net asset value and exchange prices of mutual real estate funds: analysis of determinants and dynamic relations (assigned)
• KOSPI and KOSPI-200: a quantitative analysis of an emerging market's volatility during the last 25 years (assigned)
• Properties of the implied volatility of KOSPI-200 options traded at KRX (assigned)

Successfully completed theses:

• Liquidationsperformance (teil-)abgewickelter Immobilienfonds – eine retrospektive Analyse (completed)
• Status quo of and future scope for ESG hybrid capital instruments in the corporate space – factors influencing issuance and market acceptance (completed)
• Gestaltung von Immobilienfinanzierungen in der deutschen Jurisdiktion nach den Regeln des islamischen Finanzwesens (completed)
• Sustainable Mutual Funds and Investor Behavior (completed)
• Detection of accounting fraud: applying the Benford test on DAX-listed companies (completed)
• Von der CSR- zur ESG-Berichterstattung: Eine empirische Erhebung über deutsche Großunternehmen (completed)
• Renditespreads von grünen Staatsanleihen in der EU (completed)
• Ausschüttungspolitik in Corona-Zeiten: Wie robust sind Dividend Policies von DAX-Unternehmen? (completed)
• Nachhaltigkeitsindizes: Systematisches Risiko und Konstruktionsunterschiede gegenüber konventionellen Aktienindizes (completed)
• Trends in der Ausgestaltung grüner Anleihen – Bestandsaufnahme und Analyse (completed)
• Blockchain-based clearing for bond trading (completed)
• Private-Equity-Finanzierung von grünen Start-Up-Unternehmen: Erfolgs- und Risikofaktoren aus Investorensicht (completed)
• Unternehmerische Publizitäts-, Prüfungs- und Prospektpflichten: Wäre der Fall Theranos in Deutschland denkbar? (completed)
• Sustainability Governance: Organisation in deutschen Großunternehmen (completed)
• Effizienzsteigerung durch den Einsatz künstlicher Intelligenz in den Kreditprozessen von Banken (completed)
• Risk-Return-Profile von Anlageinstrumenten in der Asset-Klasse Immobilien (completed)
• The Digital Euro of the ECB – Expectations of the Generation Z (completed)
• Risk-Return-Profile nachhaltiger Aktienindizes gegenüber konventionellen Marktindizes (completed)
• Analysis of stock recommendations in trade journals (completed)
• Crowdfunding via Cryptocurrency: A New Green Model for Funding Sustainable Projects (completed)
• Das Greenium in Staatsanleihen: Einsparpotential für öffentliche Haushalte in der EU (completed)
• Opportunities and risks of investments into SPAC (completed)
• Auswirkungen der Leerverkaufsverbote während der COVID-19-Pandemie im europäischen Aktienmarkt (completed)
• Tokenisierung von Immobilientransaktionen im deutschen Aufsichtsrecht und Steuerrecht (completed)
• Die Einführung von Bitcoin als gesetzliches Zahlungsmittel in El Salvador (completed)
• Einfluss des Futures-Marktes auf die Kurse von deutschen Bundesanleihen (completed)
• Die Entwicklung von ESG-Derivaten an den globalen Terminbörsen (completed)
• Pay-per-Use models and Machine to Machine Payments in the Automotive Industry and their Influence on the Traditional Banking Model (completed)
• Abnormal Returns Due to the DAX Expansion from 30 to 40 Stocks – an Empirical Analysis (completed)
• Impact of the IFRS 16 on Consolidated Financial Ratios of Exchange Listed Corporations (completed)
• Correlation and Betas of Crypto Currencies During Market Crises (completed)
• Equity Betas and Correlations in Phases of Market Stress (completed)
• Attractiveness of Crypto Currencies in Comparison To the Stock Markets From an Asset Manager's Point of View (completed)
• Ranking of the Largest Global Derivatives Exchanges and Central Counterparties (completed)
• Comparison of Centrally Cleared Repos in Europe, Japan, and the US – Importance, Organisation, Market Structure (completed)
• Factors Impacting the Prices for CO₂ Emission Rights within the EU (completed)
• Inflation risks in private equity assets (completed)
• Sensitivity Analysis of Electricity Prices during Economic Crises (completed)
• How Well Do National Stock Indices Represent the Corresponding Economy? (completed)
• Risk Assessment of ETCs – Market, Credit, Liquidity, and Operational Risks (completed)
• The Kimchi premium in the crypto currency markets: cause and effect (completed)
• Kick and trade: How the success in football matches influences the financial performance of exchange-listed football clubs (completed)
• Price and risk senistivity of commodities during crises (completed)
• Gründung und Betrieb einer Anlage zur Stromerzeugung aus erneuerbaren Energiequellen in Deutschland – eine praxisorientierte Handreichung (completed)
• Global CBDC Projects: Lessons for the ECB (completed)
• CO2 emission targets for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles: an impact analysis on the share prices of car manufacturers (completed)
• The importance of sustainability in German cooperative banks: A comparison between the three pillars (completed)
• Do Family-run businesses outperform Publicly-traded companies? An Empirical Analysis of German corporations (abgeschlossen)

If you need a letter of recommendation in order to apply to a foreign university or for a scholarship, I am happy to support you. Please provide your CV, your transcript of records, and, if applicable, the form to be used. The next step will be to hold a short interview with me unless I already know you from former lectures. Please allow for at least two week's time for the completion of the letter.

No lectures due to leave of absence.

• Security Markets (Kapitalmärkte) for IF: Thursdays during lecture blocks 4 and 5; lectures start on 19 October. Enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 October 2023, access key: FreeLunch
  Note: In the upcoming Winter Term 2023/24, Security Markets will be held in a Inverted Classroom structure. Please read the description in CampUAS carefully!
• Exchange Traded Derivatives for IF: Wednesdays during lecture blocks 2 and 3; lectures start on 18 October. Enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 September 2023, access key: Eurex

• Security Markets (Kapitalmärkte) for IF: Wednesdays during lecture blocks 2 and 3 in room 4-411. Enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 April 2023, access key: FreeLunch.
  Note: In the upcoming Summer Term 2023, Security Markets will be held in a newly designed Inverted Classroom structure. Please read the description in CampUAS carefully!
• Financial Management (Finanzmanagement) for BW/BWDD and IBA: Thursdays, lecture block 3, room 4-304. First lecture will be held on 13 April 2023. Enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 April 2023, access key: Merton1974
• Interdisciplinary General Studies: Climate Change – Risks for Mankind (together with A. Bayar-Schäfer, M. Simon). Access via the centralized process for "Studium Generale". Kick-Off: 19 Apr 2023, 2:15 p.m., room 4-411.

• Investment for BW/BWDD: Wednesdays in lecture block 2 for group A (access key: InvA), Wednesdays in lecture block 3 for group B (access key: InvB), enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 Oct 2022
• Security Markets (Kapitalmärkte) for IF: Fridays in lecture blocks 4 and 5 in room 10-304, enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 Oct 2022, access key: FreeLunch
• Financial Management (Finanzmanagement) for BW/BWDD and IBA: Thursdays in lecture block 3, enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 Oct 2022, access key: Merton1974
• Corporate and Investment Banking (part 2) for BW/BWDD and IBA: Fridays, the first lecture will take place on 21 Oct 2022 in lecture block 3 (12:15 p.m.) in room 4-106. As of 28 Oct 2022, the course is scheduled for lecture block 6 in room 10-304. Enrollment via CampUAS starts 1 Oct 2022, access key: CRR
• Exchange Traded Derivatives (Börslicher Derivatehandel) for IF (including the optional trader examination by Deutschen Börse AG/Eurex): Thursdays in lecture blocks 1 and 2 in room BCN-333, CampUAS access key: Eurex