We use an integrated approach to analyze the reasons behind the discount on the balance-sheet fair value of illiquid financial instruments held by European banks and classified into the Level 3 Fair Value hierarchy under IFRS 7. We believe that the potential sources of misalignment are 1) the...

On February 12, 2010, SUERF, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and the Bankwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft continued their established tradition of jointly organised conferences. As evidenced also by the 115 conference participants, this year's subject of "Contagion and Spillovers – New...

In May 2007, Oaktree Capital Management LLC, a U.S.-based hedge fund adviser with over forty billion dollars in assets under management, sold approximately fourteen percent of its equity for more than $800 million in a widespread offering made to a number of prospective purchasers. This equity...

Non-U.S. companies increasingly spurn U.S. stock markets and choose to list their securities and raise capital abroad. The drivers behind this shift are complex, but many believe that a principal cause is regulatory. The SEC has promulgated arguably over-burdensome, one-size-fits-all rules which...

This essay, based on the author's presentation last September to the annual meeting of the North American Securities Administration Association (NASAA), addresses several issues related to Rule 506, the most widely-used of the SEC's transactional exemptions from federal registration of...

In this presentation made in Dec 4th 2006 we show that indeed the current credit crunch was perfectly predictable (see slides 14, 21 and 22). We show that regulatory capital does not take into account the fact that correlation changes in time. The solution to the securitization business model...

Large publicly-held pools of assets are playing an increasingly prominent role in the global investment arena. We compare three distinct forms of such public funds, namely foreign exchange reserve funds, sovereign wealth funds, and public pension funds, to highlight their differences and...

An important goal of financial risk regulation is promoting coordination. Law's coordinating function minimizes costly conflict and encourages greater uniformity among market participants. Likewise, privately developed market standards, such as standard-form contracts and rules incorporated into...

A large banking system has served Cyprus well to date. It has supported the country's outward-oriented, services-driven economic model and has significantly contributed to output and employment. The question going forward is whether banking system growth can continue indefinitely and at what...

The coronavirus pandemic is creating overwhelming needs, in three waves. First is the health crisis; second is the macroeconomic crisis created by the abrupt halt in much business activity; and now third is a consumer crisis, as households are faced with total or partial job loss, sharp income...