Abstract for: Saving a Bank? Cracking the Case of the Fortis Bank

This paper presents a simple experimental System Dynamics model of the underlying value and market values of a bank to analyze the loss of trust in the bank. The System Dynamics model was developed on 28 September 2008 –the day the governments of the Benelux countries met in a great hurry to rescue the Fortis bank– in order to gain a better understanding of the potential dynamics of bank crises and to test policies for keeping banks from collapsing. The System Dynamics model –as well as the exam case based on it– is interesting because of the actuality and importance of the topic, the small size and simplicity of the model, its potential to generate different dynamic behaviors, and its usefulness for policy exploration.