Should bank regulation be relaxed?
byLeading Federal Reserve policymaker Stanley Fischer has hit out at plans to unwind banking regulation, calling it a “terrible mistake.” President Donald Trump and…
Banking
The 2017 Stress Tests: Are US Banks Really in Good Shape?
by“… equally efficacious, and equally a hoax.” – Benjamin Disraeli, 1848[1] One of the highlights of the U.S. summer for Fed watchers is the annual ritual…
Another Reason Not to Believe the Bank of England’s Stress Tests
byThe Bank of England repeatedly reassures us that its stress tests demonstrate the resilience of the UK banking system. Well, let’s put the…
How Onerous Are Basel III’s Constraints On Bank Leverage?
byIt is generally acknowledged that high bank leverage was a key factor contributing to the severity of the Global Financial Crisis. For the UK,…
Are Bank Capital Requirements Really Ten Times Higher Than Before The Crisis?
byA major theme in Bank of England speeches over the last three years has been the ‘Ten Times’ story: bank capital requirements are now…
THE FICTION OF THE ‘GREAT CAPITAL REBUILD’
byThe central element of the Bank of England’s narrative on the UK banking system is the ‘Great Capital Rebuild’. To paraphrase Governor Carney’s comments…
Debts, Bastiat and modern economics
byThere is a well-worn conundrum told about a stranger, who walks into the hotel in a remote, sleepy village in Mexico, and reserves a…
Business cycles are credit cycles
byThis article gets to the heart of why central banks’ monetary policy will never succeed. The fundamental error is to regard economic cycles as…
Benn Steil: Of Debt and Detriment
byIt is the exorbitant privilege of the United States that it can conjure the world’s primary reserve currency, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, then French finance…
Zero Hedge: With The Greek Crisis Back, There Are Five Possible Scenarios From Here
byAs discussed last Friday, Greece is back in the public spotlight and – hardly surprising – it is once again on the verge of…