Professor Voices » Banking

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Jenny Mackintosh — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:56:12 +0000

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IMF names new chief

Kira Jastive — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:57:21 +0000

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today named Christine Lagarde as its new chief. Boston University School of Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the BU Center for Finance, Law & Policy and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, offers the following comment:

“With Lagarde taking over the helm of the IMF, the global financial system finally has a spokesperson with the intelligence and the communications skills to articulate the grave threats facing us. It could not have taken place at a more opportune time.

“To date, ideologues in the U.S. and Europe have waged their sophomoric battles — witness the Greek and U.S. debt crises — without adult supervision. I believe Ms. Lagarde is up to the task.”

Contact Hurley at ckhurley@bu.edu or 617-353-5427.

Mark Williams on Fox Business: Reaction to Bernanke news conference

Jo Breiner — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:57:52 +0000

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

European bank stress tests

Jo Breiner — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:21:17 +0000

According to reports, European banking regulators will weaken parts of the bank stress tests which were created to raise investor confidence in the banking sector. Boston University law professor Cornelius Hurley, Director of BU’s Center for Finance, Law & Policy (formerly the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law) and a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, offers the following comment:

“Early indications are that the European Banking Authority’s stress tests will be watered down in terms of Tier 1 capital and stress scenarios. When the purpose of stress testing is to restore market confidence, incredulous stress tests are worse than no tests at all.

“Is it a lack of will at the EBA that is the problem or is it a structural defect caused by the EBA not having the authority to enforce standards across twenty independent countries?”

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

“Single rulebook” for European banks

Jo Breiner — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:27:34 +0000

Banks in the European Union may soon begin operating under a “single rulebook” according to Andrea Enria, the chairman of the European Banking Authority. Enria believes the move will lead to a more uniform oversight of banks. Boston University law professor Cornelius Hurley, Director of the Morin Center for Banking & Financial Law, offers the following commentary:

“The European Banking Authority is blazing a new trail by eliminating “regulatory arbitrage” among the EU’s member countries. If the EBA can harmonize the regulatory systems of 27 independent countries, why cannot the US coordinate its own system? Time to reopen Dodd-Frank.”

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

Whistleblower to turn over files to WikiLeaks

Rebecca Loya — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:58:50 +0000

Rudolf Elmer, a former Swiss banker, is set to hand over files to WikiLeaks that show offshore bank accounts of high net worth individuals and corporations to evade tax payments. Law professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, offers the following comment:

“Rudolf Elmer has demonstrated that the ‘shadow banking system’ is not just about complex financial instruments that hide risk and the casino in which those instruments are traded. It is also about a dark corner of the banking system that hides personal and corporate wealth for a host of purposes, especially tax evasion.

As Elmer does his WikiLeaks dump in London, one issue for federal prosecutors to focus on is whether the banks and their officers filed suspicious activity reports, so-called ‘SARS’, as is required by the Bank Secrecy Act whenever an institution or its employees know or have reason to suspect illegal activity.”

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

Goldman Sachs releases report on changes in business practices

Rebecca Loya — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:43:35 +0000

Goldman Sachs has released a report which sets force changes in the way it will do business. Law professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, sees the changes as a positive move.

“Goldman’s plan to take the creation of structured financial products out of the hands of traders and give that responsibility solely to investment bankers is a positive move. The next step for Goldman, in burnishing its tarnished reputation, should be to ensure that complex products it creates are understood by their creators, by Goldman’s directors and regulators, and by its customers.”

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