BU Now » systemic risk

More power to Treasury secretary?

Dick Taffe — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:37:00 +0000

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd will propose a council of regulators — headed by the Treasury secretary — be created to monitor systemic risk across the financial spectrum. Former Federal Reserve Bank examiner Mark Williams, who teaches finance in the School of Management is is author of “Uncontrolled Risk” about the fall of Lehman Brothers, says the regulators haven’t yet earned it.

“Before this important role is handed over, these regulators need to demonstrate they have fixed the gaps in bank oversight and early risk detection. Unfortunately, there have been no high-level changes at any of the U.S. regulatory agencies nor any independent reports completed indicating why our watchdogs did not bark.”

Contact Mark Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu

Risk, not size, is bank industry’s woe

Dick Taffe — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:08:42 +0000

The problem isn’t that banks are too big; they’re just taking excessive risk. Ex-Federal Reserve Bank examiner Mark T. Williams, who teaches finance in the School of Management and is author of “Uncontrolled Risk” about the fall of Lehman Brothers, says in a Reuters commentary that any meaningful financial reform must address lending standards while tightening oversight and policing.

“A country made up of ten well-capitalized big banks is much stronger than one with over 7,000 small banks taking dangerously big bets.”

Contact Mark T. Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu

G-20 and international regulatory reform

Dick Taffe — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:38:53 +0000

Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, says the G-20 communique outlining new international financial regulatory reforms marks a new era.

“The specificity of the G-20 pact signals a new era of cross-border cooperation on an array of regulatory matters. On a broad range of issues – from banking to hedge funds to systemic risk – look for U.S. hegemony to be replaced by international consultation and cooperation.”

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu