Financial regulators not up to task of preventing next crisis
For several years, I have been saying a reliance on financial regulators to prevent the next crisis only guarantees we will have... Read More
As predicted, bank contingent convertible debt toxic
Since contingent convertible debt, aka CoCo bonds, was first discussed, I have said stay away from it. What is contingent convertible debt?... Read More
Banco Popular and transparency
The recent resolution of Spain’s Banco Popular provides a terrific case study on the importance of banks providing transparency and disclosing their... Read More
Impact of transparency on commodity trading
To no one’s surprise, the introduction of greater transparency to commodity trading has dramatically changed how this trading is done. Gone are... Read More
Ending the reliance on rating firms
Since the financial crisis accelerated in 2008, there has been a search for a solution to the problem of investors, including banks,... Read More
Quants run Wall Street
A recent Wall Street Journal article observed we have reached the time when data-driven traders dominate the financial markets. The article describes how... Read More
Merrill Lynch Rogue Trader says system is broken
Another book on the financial crisis has been published. This time the author is a former trader who Merrill Lynch claims went... Read More
Regulation dependent financial systems are crisis prone
In a recent interview, Paul Volcker was asked Has Wall Street always been trying to wiggle out of regulations? His response highlights... Read More
Is an Asset Fire Sale a Feature or a Bug?
As the financial crisis accelerated in late 2008, financial regulators expressed their age-old fear banks might be forced to sell assets at... Read More
What a difference a decade makes …. or not
In his speech to the Institute for International Finance, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney favorably reviews the new post-financial crisis regulations.... Read More
The Information Matrix and Opacity
The Information Matrix makes it easy to understand why opacity is the necessary condition for a financial crisis. By definition, an opaque... Read More
Policymakers’ addiction to bailing out banks
Why do politicians and bank regulators have such a hard time giving up bailing out banks? Fear. Fear of contagion. Fear that allowing... Read More
Transparency and the Monte Paschi bailout
The bailout of the Italian bank Monte Paschi provides a great illustration of why banks must provide transparency. Driving the need for... Read More
Transparency, Central Banks and Bank Supervision
The St. Louis Fed published an article by Julie Stackhouse explaining why bank supervision was a necessary part of the Fed if... Read More
Information Matrix Revisited
Having talked with several economists and finance professors, it is clear my presentation of the Information Matrix in Transparency Games and subsequently on... Read More