Bankruptcy Blogs

New Frontiers in Systemic Risk

08/22/12

My oldest leaves for college in the morning. Yesterday, we were talking to him about his new bank account and how to use it responsibly to avoid overdrafts, fees, and such. The conversation gave me a new factor to consider in assessing the amount of systemic risk: the number of 18-year old boys with checkbooks.

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How to Simplify the Volcker Rule

08/22/12

It's foolhardy to try to read traders' minds to determine if the inventory they are keeping exceeds the demand they expect from clients. There is a better way.

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Trust Is Crucial in Attorney-Client Relationships

08/22/12

The Importance of Trust There is no substitute for building trust with clients. It establishes open lines of communication, increases cooperation and ultimately drives the profitability of a law practice. Clients who trust their lawyer are eager to meet their lawyer’s needs, making the working relationship enjoyable for the lawyer and supporting staff. Yet, increasingly, [...]

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Why Allow Only Banks to Issue Credit Cards?

08/22/12

Qualified nonbanks should be able to issue credit cards. This has only rarely been possible up to now - a situation that has warped the industry's structure, giving banks undeserved dominance.

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The Daily Docket: Hostess Union to Vote on Contract

08/22/12
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Members of Hostess Brands Inc.’s largest union are set to vote on a final labor contract offer from the troubled company, a proposal that calls for some “deep” concessions and c

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As Soon as One Probe Closes, Another Opens: Regions, RBS Under New Scrutiny

08/22/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Here a Probe, There a Probe: Two more banks have joined the ranks of financial institutions under investigation this summer for questionable behavior. According to the Journal, a federal grand jury is looking into the very close ties Regions Financial may have had with executive recruiting firm Fiderion Group LLC and its CEO James Norton III. Prosecutors have asked the bank to turn over information on "any gifts, trips or vacations" Fiderion...

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Yes, Subprime Crisis Was Government's Fault

08/22/12

The effects of a loose monetary policy were compounded by housing policy - not just the "affordable" housing goals set for Fannie and Freddie but also CRA quotas imposed on banks.

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Do Your Research, Ezra Klein!

08/21/12

Ezra Klein has joined the melee over the Obama Administration's housing policy failure with an apologia for the Administration.  Klein argues: 

The right question on housing, then, is not whether the administration’s policies proved insufficient. They did. It’s what would have been better. And that’s not a question that either Appelbaum or Goldfarb conclusively answer. It’s not even a question that the most credible critics of the Obama administration’s housing policies conclusively answer.

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Candidates to Replace Libor Are Lackluster

08/21/12

Central bank policy rates, overnight unsecured borrowing rates, commercial paper rates, Treasury bills and repo rates all would be open to potential manipulation, just like Libor.

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