The regulatory framework established during the Great Depression was dismantled in stages after 1969. The deregulation of deposits at banks and savings institutions created incentives to widen the scope of investments that banks and thrifts could make. Novel instruments were created that should...

We present an overview of methods to estimate risk arising from operational losses. Our approach is based on the study of the statistical severity distribution of a single loss. We analyze the fundamental issues that arise in practice when modeling operational risk data. We address the...

A recurring criticism of U.S. bank supervisors is that their standards vary procyclicly with banking and economic conditions. The 2010 reforms of supervisory standards for bank capital adequacy and liquidity (Basel III) directly address procyclicality in supervision and its effects on credit...

Has the political influence of the financial industry had any bearing on financial regulation and, ultimately, the recent financial crisis? This paper discusses the findings of recent research that uses a detailed database of the lobbying activities, campaign contributions, political connections...

We want to show the relevance of risk management and riskbased functions in banks, as during the recent crisis what has become very clear is that capital requirements for financial institutions were not always adequate given their risks. Under the current set of rules the Internal Capital...

As the number of financial institutions that are moving operations overseas has grown, so has the attention of regulators. This article looks at some of the regulations that financial institutions need to be aware of when considering moving operations overseas and some guidelines on how...

Privacy laws by their very nature pose a direct threat to a company’s ability to market new products and services to its customers. Therefore, before attempting to sell customers every conceivable product and service, regardless of the potential return, it is important to coordinate marketing...

Transforming raw data into information and then to intelligence is crucial to effective business strategy and can add substantial value to business operations. In the rapidly changing financial services environment, higher decision intelligence enables optimum use of capital and impacts...

This reference data primer is a composite view of the current efforts to provide reference data standards within the financial services industry. It outlines the security industry’s role in this endeavor and provides a progress report.

The current financial crisis that threatens the entire world has created an ideal opportunity for educators. A number of important lessons can be learned from this financial meltdown. Some are technical and deal with the value of mathematical models and measuring risk. The most important lesson,...