RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, July 01, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The Obama administration recently released a more detailed legislative proposal for its proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). Douglas Elliott believes the proposal appears to retain the intended benefit of a clear focus on consumer protection while addressing seriously the potential for destroying useful financial products. It also aims to prevent the new agency from “empire building.” Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Washington, DC
As banking and financial systems in the United States, Europe, and around the world have been shaken to their foundations over the past two years, Canada’s banking and overall financial system has proven sound and stable. On June 23, Brookings and the Woodrow Wilson Center's Canada Institute will host an examination of Canada’s overall financial system, particularly its approach to financial market regulation, and explore potential lessons for other countries. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, June 17, 2009, The Huffington Post
The long-awaited Obama administration plan to reform financial regulation has arrived. The good news, says Douglas Elliott, is that the specific proposals are virtually all sensible and constructive. The bad news is that there were some missed opportunities. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, June 17, 2009, The Brookings Institution
President Obama’s financial reform proposals are all sensible, necessary reforms. Unfortunately, some bolder steps have been left out due to the expectation of intense opposition from entrenched interests, says Douglas Elliott. He analyzes the administration’s plan, including parts that he believes did not go far enough. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Neil Baily and Douglas J. Elliott, June 15, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The economy is showing signs that it is likely bottoming out and heading toward a weak recovery, but we need to keep our optimism—and our policy actions—in check, argue Martin Baily and Douglas Elliott. Many risks remain for both the banking system and the larger economy, and they argue for increased focus on existing financial rescue plans and the banking sector. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, June 09, 2009, The New York Times
The Treasury Department has cleared the way for 10 big banks to start repaying $68.3 billion in taxpayer aid. The administration, however, plans to introduce new compensation guidelines that would apply to financial companies, including those that returned taxpayer money. What new federal restrictions, if any, should be imposed on the banks leaving TARP? More broadly, does this move by the Treasury Department show that its financial recovery programs are working? Douglas Elliott and other experts discuss these issues. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
M. Ayhan Kose, Eswar Prasad and Ashley D. Taylor, May 2009, The Brookings Institution
The financial crisis has re-ignited the debate about the merits of financial globalization and its implications for growth, especially for developing countries. In a new paper, Eswar Prasad and co-authors present a framework for certain economic “thresholds,” such as institutional quality, that once met, can increase the benefits of financial openness. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, May 12, 2009, The Huffington Post
All in all, the stress tests were useful and the results were encouraging, says Douglas Elliott. However, we have a lot of pain to get through before this crisis is over. If we're lucky, he says, it will remain bad for awhile. If we're unlucky, it could still get extremely ugly. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, May 11, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Although there was good news from the Fed’s recent “stress tests” on the 19 largest banks, it is important to not take excessive comfort from what remains essentially a highly educated guess as to the future of the banks in a very uncertain environment, says Douglas Elliott. While we may well have turned the corner, we can be far from certain that the solvency crisis in banking is over. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, May 08, 2009
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Washington, DC
Since the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, officials have struggled to get ahead of the evolving financial crisis. The Initiative on Business and Public Policy at Brookings hosted a conversation with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, to discuss the federal response to both the financial crisis and the broader economic downturn. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, May 08, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Doug Elliott analyzes the banking regulator’s stress test results by comparing them with other detailed analyses of the financial state and prospects of the banks, finding that the government's assumptions are more conservative than the IMF's, but less than the pessimists'. But he notes the real stress test will be comfortably surviving 2009 and 2010. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Neil Baily and Robert E. Litan, May 06, 2009, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
In testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Martin Baily and Robert Litan discussed the "too big to fail" conundrum, saying large institutions are necessary but must be regulated in a way that at least partially offsets the risks they pose to the rest of the financial system. They also say Congress needs to provide more Treasury TARP funds, maybe on a large scale, but that such a move will ultimately cost less than bank nationalization. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Eswar Prasad, May 04, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The IMF is considering issuing bonds as a way to increase the amount of money it has available to lend to countries struggling in the wake of the financial crisis. In a new article, Eswar Prasad discusses the bond proposal, including the potential structure and impacts on the demand for U.S. treasuries. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, May 04, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The Obama administration has released the long-awaited results of the bank stress tests, saying some have enough capital to weather the recession, while others receive a regulatory blessing. Douglas Elliott says there is some good news, but not to overinterpret until we know the tests’ rigor. The real stress test will be making it through 2009 and 2010 without losing too much money.
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RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Pietro S. Nivola and John C. Courtney, April 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The Obama administration and Congress are working rapidly to design a new regulatory architecture for the nation’s financial system. “They might consider taking a page or two from a model next door—Canada,” write Pietro Nivola and John C. Courtney, as they explore why the Canadian banking system remains solvent and solid amid the current global crisis. Read More