Remarks before Columbia University’s Politics and Business Club, New York City, NY, November 15, 2011 ; "I shall speak of the difficulty of treating [too big to fail] in a culture held hostage by concerns for 'contagion,' 'systemic risk' and 'unique solutions.' I will posit that preoccupation...

This paper incorporates a global bank into a two-country business-cycle model. The bank collects deposits from households and makes loans to entrepreneurs, in both countries. It has to finance a fraction of loans using equity. We investigate how such a bank capital requirement affects the...