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Banking Law Prof Blog

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Post Frequency: 4.3/day

Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 14:13:05

Not Enough Competition in Public Equity Markets

Posted on May 23, 2009
The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation concludes that ?continued erosion in competitiveness of U.S. public equity markets was among the few clear trends during 2008 market chaos.? Link: http://www.capmktsreg.org/pdfs/09-Mar-24_CCMR_Q4_2008_competitiveness_update...

Another Gripe: ?Toxic Assets? and ?Legacy Loans?

Posted on May 22, 2009
Why don?t we just call these balance sheet items what they are: ?Mortgage loans and Mortgage-related securities that have lost value? and ?Delinquent mortgage loans?? The catchy phrases we have substituted obscure the true nature of what we are dealing...

No Magic Kingdom In This Economy

Posted on May 22, 2009
Even The Walt Disney Company?s profits were way down for the second quarter of 2009. Link to 10-Q: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1001039/000119312509100081/d10q.htm (ag) May 22, 2009 In ?Economy?

Bored on the Trading Floor

Posted on May 21, 2009
You?re not going to believe this ? or maybe you will. The Wall Street Journal reports that NYSE traders have so little to do these days that they are watching movies and playing gin rummy. Two questions: Who is paying...

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U.S. Now on the Receiving End of Economic Advice

Posted on May 21, 2009
The U.S. has long dispensed economic advice to other countries. Japan is now returning the favor. And it?s just what your depression-era grandparents had to say. The U.S. must reduce household debt. Link to story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/5212044/Bank-of-Japan-governor-says-US-must-tackle-household-debt...

Economy Joke

Posted on May 21, 2009
Recognizing that the title of this post is redundant, I?m sharing the following: Friend One: You are a walking economy. Friend Two: What do you mean by that? Friend One: Your hair line is in recession, your waistline is in...

?Assessing the G-20 Stimulus Plans?

Posted on May 20, 2009
The Brookings Institution has posted an informative report, ?Assessing the G-20 Stimulus Plans: A Deeper Look.? Our integrated world economy demands a global address to current economic problems. Link: http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2009/03_g20_stimulus_prasad...

British Report on Reforming International Financial Regulation

Posted on May 20, 2009
Highlights of the 120-page Report include proposals to: ? Reform Bank Capital and Liquidity Requirements ? Establish Counter-Cyclical Capital Buffers ? Build Capital in Good Economic Times ? Regulate ?Shadowbanking? Activities and Hedge Funds ? Regulate Credit Rating Agencies ?...

Fallout from Swine Flu

Posted on May 20, 2009
My plans to teach ??Global Issues in Financial Institution Regulation? in Texas Tech?s Summer Law Institute in Guanajuato, Mexico, have been postponed until next summer. Between now and then, the course content may change radically ? for the better, we...

Conducting Islamic Banking ? A Note to Banking Law Professors

Posted on May 19, 2009
One of the tiny sidelights of a Banking Law course is mention of ?lending? products that comply with Islamic Law. Here?s some interesting information on that topic: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=409514 (ag) May 19, 2009

An Update on Iceland?s Economy

Posted on May 19, 2009
Last winter, the talk was all about Iceland?s economic crisis, its banking collapse, and government disaster. The IMF now says Iceland?s general economic outlook is ?good.? Link: http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=323095 (ag) May 19, 2009 In ?Economy?

FTC , the Financial Crisis, and Consumer Protection

Posted on May 18, 2009
Lest you think that the Federal Trade Commission has no opinion on the current economic crisis and its effect on consumer protection, check out recent Congressional testimony: ? May 6 ? On ?Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Scams? ? March...

CRA in Hard Times

Posted on May 17, 2009
Just a question: Now that the economy is making finances tough all over, what's the effect on Community Reinvestment Act activities by banks? (ag) May 17, 2009 in CRA

Warren Buffet Speaks

Posted on May 16, 2009
Now that the hoopla over the Annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders' Weekend has subsided, don't forget to review Warren Buffet's most recent "Letter to Shareholders." One interesting point for MBAs and wannabes is criticism of the Black-Scholes option pricing model...

Why Federal Regulation Should Not Be "The Answer"

Posted on May 15, 2009
I admit it: I?m a proponent of the Dual Banking System. We can all see flaws in the U.S. financial institution regulatory structure that contributed to the current economic crisis. I am deeply concerned, however, that many reform proposals suggest...

Knowingly Eating a Cheese Sandwich ? The Limits of Identity Theft

Posted on May 15, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in Flores-Figueroa v. U.S. (May 4, 2009) that the crime of identity theft is limited to those who knew they were using another actual person's social security number. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote: "If...

Open Meetings

Posted on May 14, 2009
The Fifth Circuit says elected officials have free speech rights. As General Counsel to a bank regulatory agency, the question of what constitutes an ?open meeting? is a matter of debate and consternation among non-lawyer members of a multi-member board...

Bankers Say They've Learned Their Lessons

Posted on May 14, 2009
In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, an American Bankers Association representative testified that bank lending practices are trending away from risky lending and back toward conservative underwriting. (Let?s hope so!) Bankers are asking Congress not...

Bank Failure Count

Posted on May 13, 2009
The troubled economy has made this a busy year for FDIC. So how many failures have there been so far this year? FDIC's Failed Bank List says 33 to date. Link to list and info: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html (ag) May 13, 2009,...

Headed to Turkey for Research

Posted on May 13, 2009
I?m leaving today for a research trip to Turkey and Eastern Europe. I?ll continue to post from hotels and Internet cafes, so stay tuned. Here?s my research proposal: Draft Proposal: ?Towards an Efficient and Effective Financial Regulatory Structure: the U...

What Is Stress Testing Anyway?

Posted on May 12, 2009
For a simplified, very readable explanation of "stress testing" (AKA The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program or SCAP), see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's May 11th speech to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's 2009 Financial Markets Conference...

Apples to Apples

Posted on May 12, 2009
FDIC has standardized and modernized the rules for how the 160 largest insured depository institutions calculate and report information about deposits. These rules were effective in 2008, but FDIC's staff has now compiled FAQs about compliance with the "Large Bank...

FDIC Asleep at the Switch?

Posted on May 11, 2009
FDIC?s inspector general criticized the agency for failing to take timely and effective action in connection with Alpha Bank and Trust, Alpharetta, Georgia. The bank failed on October 24, 2008, 29 months after receiving a charter and federal deposit insurance...

China and the EU

Posted on May 11, 2009
Getting Together in Crisis: China and the European Union are in talks regarding closer cooperation to combat the current economic crisis. Link to story: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/07/content_11328764.htm (ag) May 11, 2009, in Economy

Extensive Introspection at the Fed

Posted on May 09, 2009
According to Ben Bernanke, the current economic crisis has generated "extensive introspection" at the Federal Reserve, which concludes that there is a need for "heightened vigilance and forcefulness" on the part of bank regulators. Link to WSJ story: http://www...

Official Stress Test Results

Posted on May 08, 2009
The offficial announcement is posted on the Federal Reserve website. There have been many advance leaks and general misunderstanding about what the stress test results mean, so please refer to the Statement released at 5 p.m. today by Secretary of...

More Stress (Testing)

Posted on May 08, 2009
Here's a comment from the Conference of State Bank Supervisor's Newsletter: Closing Comment "If we want to heal our financial system so it can resume the business of financing the economy, the Treasury and the White House need to get...

Interest Rate Cutting in Europe

Posted on May 08, 2009
The European Central Bank reduced its main interest rate yesterday by one-quarter percent to one percent, the fourth reduction this year ? and quite possibly not the last cut. The global recession continues. Link: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4233955,00...

What FDIC Will Do and How They'll Do It

Posted on May 07, 2009
FDIC's recently released Performance Plan for 2009 sets out goals in three areas: Insurance, Supervision, and Receivership Management. The report also provides a brief recap of 2008 from FDIC's perspective. In the alphabet soup world of financial crisis programs, FDIC's...

FDIC's New General Counsel

Posted on May 07, 2009
FDIC has a new General Counsel, appointed this week fully six months after Sara Kelsey's retirement on October 31, 2008. New GC Michael Bradfield brings Washington regulatory experience from the last big banking downturn which may stand him and the...

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