The discussion around the role of nonbanks and their impact on financial stability is a healthy development. However, the author believes the current debate is filled with a number of misconceptions and omissions that detract from the goals of enhancing market stability and economic growth...

This paper examines the factors which contribute to banks being perceived as being “good” or “bad” in terms of their impact on the political economy and society as a whole. We first review some of the historical antecedents for public approbation against banks, then consider how changes...

This paper traces the roots of collateral flow and its potential vulnerabilities in the shadow banking system to their regulatory capital treatment in the banking sector. As part of assessing the interaction of banking regulation and the shadow banking sector, it investigates the impact of bank...

This paper assesses the potential impact of FinTech on the finance industry. I document first that financial services remain surprisingly expensive, which explains the emergence of new entrants. I then argue that the current regulatory approach is subject to significant political economy and...

There was perhaps no issue of greater importance to the financial regulatory reforms of 2010 than the resolution, without taxpayer assistance, of large financial institutions. The rescue of firms such as AIG shocked the public conscience and provided the political force behind the passage of the...

Financial innovation is inextricably tied to asymmetric information and therefore sets the stage for financial crises. Over history, every truly meaningful crisis has had elements of asymmetric information, particularly affecting innovative financial instruments that are primary market...

The author compares the U.S. with other G-10 countries regarding key aspects of permissible banking activities. One conclusion is that banks in the U.S. face greater restrictions, and possibly more intensive supervisory oversight, than do banks in most other G-10 countries. Second, the majority...

Basically, shadow banking is an original kind of business organization, or better a set of institutions and markets, finalized to disinvest fixed assets and convey them to the financial markets. Nowadays, tackling the subject means penetrating the hard core of financialization. Shadow banking...

An emerging trend in financial services is banks' increasingly common refusal to do business with industries for political reasons rather than for traditional business justifications. Banks' refusals are often explained by a desire to make a difference or send a message. While this desire may...

One of the problems perceived to be at the heart of the global financial crisis was an amalgamation of various commercial and investment banking activities under one entity, as well as the interconnectedness of the banking entities with other financial institutions, investment funds, and the...