The consensus among financial regulators is that Tier 2 capital is inferior to Tier 1, both in terms of incentives for an ongoing bank and regarding the protection it offers in the case of failure. Some economists, while not denying the benefits of Tier 1, suggest that there may be benefits of...

In the wake of the subprime crisis, there has been widespread discussion of the disproportionate risks posed to the financial system by large banks that may consider themselves 'too big to fail'. This has led in turn to suggestions that radical policies with the effect of reducing bank size and...

The British economy will suffer next year as it experiences the worst setback among the G7 countries. This reflects an especially pronounced reverse to consumer spending, which will fall by 3.4 per cent in 2009, easily the biggest decline among the G7. The economy will also be dragged down by...

in: The Riksbank's enquiry into the risks in the Swedish housing market