Professor Ania Zalewska

I joined the University of Leicester School of Business as a Professor of Finance in February 2023. In January 2025 I became the founding Director of the Centre for Finance, Governance and Sustainable Growth (FGSG). I am also the Lead of the  Green Finance Thematical Advisory Group (TAG) at the Land Use for Net-Zero, Nature and People  (LUNZ) Hub.  While at Leicester, I held the following positions: Associate Dean of Research and Enterprise (2023-2024), Director of Research for the School of Accounting and Finance (2024-2025), Deputy Director of Research for the School of Economics, Finance and Accounting (2023-2024) and the Director of the Cluster for Finance, Governance and Regulation (2023-2025).

Prior to joining Leicester, I was a Professor of Finance and Director of the Centre for Governance, Regulation and Industrial Strategy (CGR&IS) at the University of Bath (2005-2023), Assistant Professor of Finance at the Limburg Institute for Financial Economics, Maastricht University, NL (2000-2005), Lecturer in Economics at the Department of Economics, University of Bristol (1998-2000) and Research Assistant at the London Business School (1998). I hold a PhD in Economics (London Business School) and a PhD in Mathematics (Polish Academy of Sciences). 

I have also been a research fellow at the Haas School of Business, University of Berkeley, California, USA; NYU Stern School of Business, New York, USA; Rutgers Business School, Newark, USA (twice); Hanken Business School, Helsinki, Finland; COPPEAD Business School, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and  the Toulouse Business School, France. I was also a Visiting Professor at the School of Management, University of Bath (2023-2026).

My research interests include the development and regulation of, and innovation in, financial markets and financial intermediaries. I also research on the behavioural aspects of investing and market participation by retail investors. I have published extensively in leading academic journals (e.g. Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science, Economic Journal). 

I served as an Associate and Guest Editor for the Journal of Banking & Finance and and as a Guest Editor for Journal of Empirical Finance. I I am co-founder of the Finance Research Consortium and the International Virtual Research Seminars in Finance, and the Junior Academics Research Seminars in Finance. 

I have been invited to deliver keynote addresses at numerous international academic conferences (e.g., International Banking and Finance Society at Angers, France; the Vietnam International Conference in Finance, Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam Economists Annual Meeting VEAM-2015; ESNIE, Corsica; University of Nuremberg-Erlangen, Germany), international seminars (e.g. Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden; Nova Business School, Portugal; University of Le Mans, France; IPAG-Paris, France; University of Zurich, Switzerland; Toulouse Business School, France; NYU Stern Business School, USA; University of Illinois at Chicago, USA; Northeaster University, USA; University of Baleares, Mallorca; University of Piraeus, Greece; Maastricht University, NL; Technical University of Crete, Crete; Rutgers Business School, USA; IESE Business School, Spain; and talks at policy and industry events  organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Banking Authority (EBA), Bank for international Settlements (BIS), Banque de France, International SimCorp, DFF, Institute for Quantitative Investment Research (INQUIRE), Westminster Business Forum, and Industry & Parliamentary Trust. 

I have advised various governmental bodies (e.g. FSA, Competition Commission,  DECC, BEIS, National Infrastructure Commission, Committee on Standards in Public Life, HMRC, Defra). My research on market risk informed numerous regulatory debates (e.g. setting hurdle rates for Contracts for Difference in the 2016/17 green energy auctions, price regulation of utilities, climate finance at COP26). I was the Academia-Government Co-ordinator and UK representative at the Management Board of the EU-COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action on Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance (2021-2025).

My research interest spans across several strands of Finance. My primary interests include development and functioning of financial intermediaries, sustainability and ESG investing, impact of AI and financial regulation (its design, implementation and consequences for markets, institutions and investors). In addition, I have also published on issues related to the development and properties of capital markets, fintech, governance and board issues, executive remuneration, and privatisation and regulation of utilities.

Recent working papers:

• Wang, H. and A. Zalewska (2026) From policy to market: Does local government’s organisational capability matter for biodiversity markets? 
• Fatouh, M., Pinheiro, J. and A. Zalewska (2026) Ring-fencing and heterogeneity of credit distribution
• Wei W. and A. Zalewska (2023) Capitalists or fiduciary conscious agents? ESG mutual fund fees and investor sophistication
• Zalewska, A. and Y. Zhang (2022) To Bao or not to Bao. Payment innovation and the money market funds
• Zalewska, A. and Y. Zhang (2021) Independent directors’ self-interest and mutual funds’ liquidations
• Zalewska, A. (2021) Are SRRI risk classes informative about pension funds’ risk-return characteristics?
• Eccles, P., P.A. Grout, P. Siciliani and A. Zalewska (2021) The impact of machine learning and big data on credit markets

Selected research grants:

• “Land Use for Net Zero Hub”, Co-Investigator (Lead of the Green Finance Research Group) of the  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council – UK RI grant 2023-2027, £6,500,000
• "Why do Companies Fail?", Co-Investigator of the ICAEW grant 2023, £15,000
• “Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance - Towards a transparent financial industry” (FinAI) CA19130; Co-I of EU COST Action grant 2020-2024. Circa £800,000
• “Risk transfer in Public-Private Partnerships”, ESRC, 2009, joined with principal investigator Paul Grout (CMPO-University of Bristol); part of an ESRC Centre grant to CMPO, circa £1,500,000
• “Stock Market Participation: Development, Causes and Implications”, Leverhulme Trust, Grant F/00 351/T, 2007-2009; £69,000 (before FEC)
• “Understanding Short-termism and Corporate Governance: Toward an Actor-Centred Model”, Greenhouse, 2008, with joint co-investigators G. Jackson (University of Bath) and P. Windolf (University of Trier, Germany); £8,000
• “Performance of Privatised, Private de Novo and State-Owned Enterprises in the Post-Communist Countries” METEOR’s Grant M02.069, Maastricht University, 2002; €4,000
• “Economic Analysis of Financial Markets in Post-Communist Countries During Transition”, Phare ACE Programme, P95-3103-S, European Commission, 1995; circa £48,000. 

Selected Publications in Financial Economics:  

• Eccles, P., Grout, P., Siciliani, P. and A. Zalewska (2026) Banking competition and regulation with diverse business models. Journal of Financial Stability 86, 101584
• Chiappari, M., Flori, A., Giansante, S. and A. Zalewska (2026) The impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU ETS on firms’ carbon intensity: Evidence from the UK ETS. Climate Policy 
• Zalewska, A. (2022) Saving with group or individual personal pension schemes: How much difference does it make? Management Science 64(7), 5384-5402
• Zalewska, A. (2022) Bankers’ remuneration reforms and new challenges. Corporate Governance: An International Review 31(1): 161-177
• Zalewska, A. and Y. Zhang (2020) Mutual funds’ exits, financial crisis and Darwin, Journal of Corporate Finance 65
• Ongena, S. and A. Zalewska (2018) Saving for old age: Institutional and individual investors, Journal of Banking and Finance 92, 257-268
• Grout, P.A. and A. Zalewska (2016) Stock market risk in the financial crisis, International Review of Financial Analysis 46, 326-345
• Zalewska, A. (2016) A new look at bankers’ remuneration, Corporate Governance: An International Review 24, 322–333
• Ferrer, E., J. Salaber and A. Zalewska (2016) Consumer confidence indices and stock markets’ meltdowns, European Journal of Finance 22(3), 195-220
• Zalewska, A. (2014) Challenges of corporate governance: Twenty years after Cadbury, ten years after Sarbanes-Oxley, Journal of Empirical Finance 27, 1-9
• Grout, P.A., A. Jenkins and A. Zalewska (2015) Regulatory valuation of public utilities: A case study of the twentieth century, Business History 56, 936-955
• Zalewska, A. (2014) Gentlemen do not talk about money: The case of British boards, Journal of Empirical Finance 27, 40-57
• Schotman, P.C. and A. Zalewska (2006) Non-synchronous trading and testing for market integration in Central European Emerging Markets, Journal of Empirical Finance 13, 462-494
• Grout, P.A. and A. Zalewska (2006) The impact of regulation on market risk, Journal of Financial Economics 80(1), 149-184

Publications in Mathematics:

• Zalewska-Mitura A. and J. Zemanek (1997) The Gershgorin discs under unitary similarity, Banach Centre Publications 38, 427-441. 
• Zalewska-Mitura A. (1994) Generalization of the Lower Bound Function Theorem for Markov operators, Universitatis Iagellonicae Acta Matematica, Fasciulus XXXI, 79-85. 

Published Consulting Reports:

• Adaptive regulation, market risk and the cost of capital, 2019, National Infrastructure Commission (NIC),  (with P.A. Grout)Comments of the NERA’s Report “Electricity Generation Costs and Hurdle Rates. Lot 1: Hurdle Rates Update for Generation Technologies”, 2016, Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 
• Complaints Research, Annex 2 in ‘Transparency as a regulatory tool and publication of complaints data’, Financial Services Authority (FSA), Consultation Paper 09/21 
• Cost of Capital for PR09, 2008, Final Report for Water UK, NERA Economic Consulting, (with R. Hern, T. Haug, A. Legg, and P.A. Grout) 
• Evolving Character of the CAPM Beta. The Case of the Telecom Industry, 2003, Consultancy Report written for Indepen Consulting Ltd.Recent Trends in Betas of Electricity Companies, 2002, Consultancy Report written for National Economic Research Associates’ London Office

REF Impact Cases:

• Influencing regulatory policy development and decarbonisation, submitted by School of Management, University of Bath, REF 2022

• My joint research has also formed the basis for the following Impact Cases: 
  • Two confidential case studies submitted by the University of Bristol in REF 2022 were based on my research (P.A. Grout)
  • One confidential case study submitted by the University of Bristol in REF 2014 was based on my research (P.A. Grout)

I am open to PhD applications from high quality candidates who are interested in research on nature finance, AI-related effects, institutional investors and/or financial regulation.  I have a strong preference for candidates with solid numerical, programming and econometric skills.

I am currently supervising  Huifang (Vicky) Liu (2025+) who researches on implications of AI developments. 

Graduated PhD supervisions:

• Yue Zhang: (2020) Determinants and consequences of mutual funds’ exits, International School of Business and Finance, currently working at the Sun Yat-Sen University, China
• Boondhiva Cheewatragoongit: (2020) ASEAN stock market consolidation: an implication for market integration, home bias and diversification benefit, currently working at the Bank of Thailand, Thailand
• Anzela Volkova: (2020) Financing deficit of defined benefit pension: The case of UK, currently the Statistics Production Lead at the Office for National Statistics, UK
• Yadong Li: (2018) Probability density distributions of stock returns, market regimes, and financial risk measures, currently working at the Department of International Affairs of China Securities Regulatory Commission, China
• Xinyi Huang: (2017) The relationship of bank accounting ratios and financial crisis 2007/08, currently working at the University of Durham, UK (2017)
• Yan Yan: (2016) Determinants and consequences of executive compensation: Empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies, currently working at the Tsinghua University, China
• Anastasia Petraki: (2012) Performance of personal pension funds in the United Kingdom, currently the 

  Head of Global Sustainable & Transition Platform Strategy & Governance

  , BlackRock

 In addition to my responsibilities and duties at the University of Leicester, I am also:

• Trustee of the South West Heritage Trust, since 2022
• Co-founder of the Finance Research Consortium, since 2020
• Co-organiser of the International Virtual Research Seminars in Finance (IVRSiF), since 2020
• Scientific Committee Member of the Dioscuri Centres of Excellence, Max Planck Society, Germany, since 2019
• Member of the Advisory Board and Trustee of the Polish Studies Foundation, since 2019
• Chair and Member of several committees of the Luxembourg National Research Fund, Luxemburg, since 2016
• Chair of the Awards Committee and Member of the Executive Board of the International Finance and Banking Society (IFABS), since 2016

Blogs, Op-eds, etc.:

Why Local Government Capacity Matters for Nature Markets

Open banking and the limits of traditional banking regulation: What bankers need to rethink

UK pension reform, investing in nature and the fall of the Berlin Wall – What can we learn from history? 

Tackling climate change and adaptive policy

Reimagining Land Use Systems through the Consumer

Is having BNPL on tap beneficial?

What next for digital payments?

Aligning Climate Finance for an Equitable and Sustainable Net Zero Future

CGRIS Stories: Saving for old age with personal pension schemes – more regulatory oversight is badly needed

Costing the Earth – costing the capital needed for net-zero transition

Financial literacy - a long way to the top

The future of cryptocurrencies is bright

Pensions for the self-employed need a rethink

Pensions: why automatic enrolment may not suit the self-employed

Huge pension fund deficits are a global crisis in waiting

University lecturer explains why academics are striking over pension cuts

I was also cited by New Statesman, Financial Times, Raconteur, The Economist, The Hill, Central Banking, Pensions Age, Yahoo!News, Professional Pensions, Science Daily, My Science, Actuarial Post and I gave an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live on COP27.