Sep. 10, 2025 Dustin Eaton, CAMS As we pause to remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (9/11), we are reminded that 9/11 has forever changed how the world combats terrorist financing. The 9/11 attacks triggered a revolution in … Continue reading Terrorist financing since 9/11: How the threat and the response have evolved
The debate between USDC exemplified by Circle and USDT associated with Tether brings many of the realities of crypto into focus. The perennial debate has been whether Bitcoin is an asset class lke Gold or Silver or is it a useful alternative currency to fiat. Bankwatch Research Research and background on USDC and USDT. The recent Compass Point report made two points, and thus fails as an analytical support document: 1. Market Penetration – USDT has that 2. Additional cost structure for USDC (Circle ) associated with regulatry requirements similar to banking, will hinder profitability If we explore the second … Continue reading StableCoin needs clear definition similar to Bretton Woods
Executive Summary pdf 8 pages 0.4MB Full Report pdf 214 pages 2.2 MB The report begins by summarising the impacts of the financial crisis on the UK banks. Table of Contents here The overall impact is summarised here: Despite recent de-leveraging, the total balance sheet of UK banks is more than four times annual GDP. More than 80% of RBS and more than 40% of Lloyds are in state ownership. Competition in UK banking has been seriously weakened as rivals to the largest retail banks have left the market or been absorbed into others. The general approach has three … Continue reading First Look – UK Independent Commission on Banking report has a focus on new competition, but implementation will have practical difficulties
For the record here is the detail on Basel 3 (Basel III). It is a positive step but it still means banks have a debt to equity level of 8.5 :1 BIS Press release and pdf. High level taken from the pdf. Detailed schedule taken from the pdf. Technorati Tags: regulation,Basel 3,Tier 1 capital,countercyclical buffer Continue reading Basel 3 (Basel III) details released
There is a statement today … Statement of John Corston, Acting Deputy Director, Complex Financial Institution Branch, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Systemically Important Institutions and the Issue of "Too Big To Fail" that contains some very interesting facts, and side from he bureaucratic commentary there is a real sense of incredulity that this is how big banks are managed. The overall message is excruciating detail is one of rationalising insufficient regulatory oversight existed to permit the FDIC to adequately monitor the situation. It describes the nature of onsite examiners at FI’s with greater … Continue reading The fragility of the banking system – the final 2 days in the life of Wachovia in 2008
This is a complex article at ProPublica that in simple terms illuminates all that was wrong with CDO’s and synthetic CDO’s. These instruments allowed investment bankers like Magnetar to circumvent insider trading rules. The story of Goldman Sachs being charged by the SEC for fraud is only the beginning. Financial reform is the last thing many financiers and bankers will have to worry about as this story takes hold. Magnetar involved all the big names and most are listed here. You will see many recognisable names, eg. Citi, Wachovia, Deutsche, Lehmans, UBS, Mizuho, JP Morgan. At this point it appears … Continue reading The Magnetar Trade – otherwise known as ‘The Black Hole”
This little nugget from Gillian Tett at the Financial Times last week brought a few thoughts into sharp focus. Is this the lull before the storm for US mortgages? | ft.com For this spring, something of a paradox is hanging over the mortgage-backed securities world. At the end of this month, the US Federal Reserve is due to freeze its programme to purchase Fannie and Freddie agency MBS that it implemented in the wake of the financial crisis. However, before anyone is tempted to crack open the champagne, they should think – once again – about that “displacement” effect. During … Continue reading The need for genuine transparency in security risk assessment | peer-to-peer lending as an alternative
I could not agree more with this quote from Niall Ferguson. The problem is leverage, and securitization is nothing more than leverage that is not appropriately recorded on the balance sheet. There is no amount of regulation, bank taxes or bonus taxes that will decrease the propensity for the next crisis until that simple recognition is agreed. Niall Ferguson: This Crisis Didn’t Happen Because Banks Were Too Big | Clusterstock "I don’t think it was really the banks’ involvement in hedge funds that were nearly as much of a problem as banks involvement in securitized MBS collateralized debt obligations." Technorati … Continue reading Securitization is nothing more than unrecorded leverage
On Vox, the authors noted have a new ebook (pdf) that paints a quite complete picture of the elements for consideration in financial services regulatory reform. Real Time Solutions for US Financial Reform Viral Acharya Thomas F. Cooley Matthew Richardson Ingo Walter 15 December 2009 The NYU Stern group – authors of the influential book Restoring Financial Stability: How to Repair a Failed System – have completed a new ebook that assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the US financial reform legislation. This column introduces the new ebook. FYI, here is the ToC. Click through for the book in pdf. … Continue reading Real Time Solutions for US Financial Reform | NYU Stern Working Group on Financial Reform
There has been much talk of systemic risk since the financial crisis hit. I see it more as a crisis of banking and banking confidence, and the debate on systemic risk is critical because it exists because of Government intervention and protections, implicit and explicit. The latest from Lord Turner of the FSA is a discussion paper, that reviews systemic risk and provides as good a discussion on that topic as I have seen. What it particularly interesting is how the insights raise the prospect of penalising globally integrated banks over nationally independent organizations with higher capital requirements. Things just … Continue reading On Bank Systemic Risk, International Integration and Capital Requirement | Turner Discussion Paper
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