...2 Letting Go of Lehman Brothers Question 1: Do you believe that the U.S. government treated some financial institutions differently during the crisis? Was that appropriate? To assure the financial stability and viability of the U.S. financial system, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) have the responsibility to support, protect and buffer financial institutions whose failures, they believe, might have a significant effect on the market as a whole. Before making a decision about whether an institution should be poured capital into, the Federal Reserve will consider the institution`s collateral and the ability to repay loans. The Federal Reserve said that the companies that did receive bailouts, such as AIG, Fannie Mae and, Freddie Mac, clearly had the collateral and showed great promise of paying them back in the future, while Lehman Brothers did not. When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was asked how the Lehman case differed from that of American International Group Inc., which received $182 billion in taxpayer aid, Bernanke said there was a fundamental difference. They believed AIG, as the biggest insurance company in the U.S., had valuable assets which could back up the Fed's emergency loan. So the Federal Reserve will absolutely be paid back by AIG. However, Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive officer of Lehman Brother, said that they did have the collateral and...
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...Do you believe that the US government treated some financial institutions differently during the crisis? Was that appropriate? The issue faced by Lehman Brothers is just a consequence of bad decisions from many parties involved. The fact that this investment bank had been the only one that didn't receive any governmental help, begs the question why the US government did not struggle to let Lehman Brothers survive. Many issues were out of control. Merrill Lynch, another major investment bank, was also facing a similar situation. After an emergency meeting called by the Federal Reserve (Fed); Bank of America announced its decision to buy Merrill Lynch. The Investment banks Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Golden Sachs were called by the Fed to find a way to rescue Lehman; however, no bank was interested in investing in the firm (Ferguson 2010). Just one week before Lehman’s bankruptcy, Fannie Mae, and Freddy Mac had to bail out with the intervention of the US Treasury and the Fed. Two days after its bankruptcy, the Fed provided $85 billion loan to American International Group (AIG) as an insurance conglomerate to prevent its failure (Elteman et al 2011, 132 – 134). Both, Fed and Treasury, argued that while Lehman could not post sufficient security in affording reasonable assurance that a loan from the Fed would be repaid, the Fed credit was adequately secured by AIG’s assets (USNews 2008). Whether US government position was appropriate or not, depends on the interest of the parties...
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...The revaluation of Chinese Yuan The Chinese national economy is probably the most powerful nowadays. At least, it is the main antagonist to the American economy. A lot of experts tend to call it as the main driver of renewal of the world’s economy after the global financial crisis. A reasonable question is what the preconditions of such powerful status are. In our opinion, these preconditions are the following. First of all, it is cheap labor force. Moreover, the country has a lot of labor force, more than any other country in the world. Because of the cheap labor force the country’s products are quite cheap on the international market. That is why it is not surprising that export plays a great role in the country’s economy. Cheap labor force is not the only reason for the competitiveness of the Chinese products. Cheap Yuan is another reason, but about it we are going to talk below. Some additional information about the national economy of China can be got from the following quote. “China's economy is huge and expanding rapidly. In the last 30 years, the rate of Chinese economic growth has been almost miraculous, averaging 8 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per annum. The economy has grown more than 10 times during that period, with Chinese GDP reaching 3.42 trillion US dollars in 2007. China already has the biggest economy after the United States and most analysts predict China will become the largest economy in the world this century” (The Chinese Economy). ...
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...LEHMAN BROTHERS: TOO BIG TO FAIL? WILLIAM RYBACK LEHMAN BROTHERS: TOO BIG TO FAIL? Copyright by the Toronto Leadership Centre. This case was prepared exclusively for a class discussion at a Banking, Insurance or Securities session offered by the Toronto Centre. Information has been summarized and should not be regarded as complete or accurate in every detail. The text should be considered as class exercise material and in no way be used to reach conclusions about the nature or behaviour of any of the persons or institutions mentioned.. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form without the permission of the Toronto Leadership Centre for Financial Sector Supervision. Sources: This document is based on information that was in the public domain at the times mentioned or which became public after the resolution of the issues. It does not include information confidential to the financial institution involved. 1 LEHMAN BROTHERS: TOO BIG TO FAIL? WILLIAM RYBACK This case study is written and presented by William Ryback, former special advisor to the Financial Supervisory Service in Seoul, Korea; Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; and career bank supervisor in the United States. The material presented is derived from public media sources. INTRODUCTION In this case study an example of a large bank failure and its after effects on the financial markets is presented...
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...Book Review: Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big To Fail The financial struggles of 2008 led to myriad books on why the crack-up occurred, and many have been reviewed here. Andrew Ross Sorkin, a writer for the New York Times, approaches what happened differently. He has written a very interesting behind-the-scenes account of the people within government and finance who saw the crisis up close. For those interested in what went down behind closed doors, Sorkin's “ Too Big To Fail” is essential. Thanks to his global access to the individuals involved, the interested reader can expand his or her knowledge about the events behind the events. Too Big To Fail begins in riveting fashion at J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon's Park Avenue apartment the day before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Having spent part of the previous evening at the New York Fed, Dimon knew better than most what was ahead, and in a conference call with his top lieutenants, Dimon dismissed the view - one held by Lehman CEO Richard Fuld no less - that the prominent investment bank would be saved by Washington. Dimon's take was "That's wishful thinking. There is no way, in my opinion, that Washington is going to bail out an investment bank. Nor should they (my emphasis)." Instead, Dimon told the listeners on the call that "We need to prepare right now for Lehman Brothers filing. And for Merrill Lynch filing. And for AIG filing. And for Morgan Stanley filing." Before each company mention Dimon paused, then paused...
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...------------------------------------------------- Lehman Brothers Collapse ------------------------------------------------- Lehman Brothers Collapse Executive Summary The following report discusses and analyzes the events leading up to the failure of Lehman Brothers as well as outcomes and repercussions of one of the largest bankruptcy cases to date. The first part of this paper describes the primary factors that contributed to the ultimate demise of Lehman Brothers. The main factors that lead to the crisis include, but are not limited to; the misrepresentation of financial statements, a complete lack of internal control, accounting as well as management collusion, managerial fraud, increased moral hazard, and the overpayment of executives within the firm. Misrepresentation of the financial statements and the misuse of accounting practices was the main reason for the Collapse of Lehman Brothers. It was said that upper management violated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act through the use of questionable and unethical accounting practices, more specifically through the use of Repo 105 transactions. The second part of this paper addresses the underlying causes and issues relative to the study of financial ethics. This paper also addresses those who were involved as well as affected by the events that took place in the Lehman Brothers scandal. After evaluating the reasons for Lehman Brothers failure, the report discusses possible courses of action to take in order...
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...America (B of A), were not only ethical and accurate, but could have simply saved our financial system as we know it. During the weekend of September 13-14, 2008 Kenneth Lewis met with CEO of Merrill Lynch (Merrill), John Thain, in order to try and rescue Merrill from a hasty bankruptcy that lurked around the corner. Lewis was thinking that it was the perfect opportunity to add the only thing that B of A lacked after recent acquisitions, a “Wall Street investment bank that underwrote and sold securities” (Pozen and Beresford, 2010). On December 5, 2008 B of A’s shareholders voted to approve the merger between the two (Pozen and Beresford, 2010). It wasn’t until days later that Lewis became progressively more concerned about the growing fourth quarter losses on Merrill’s books, from $5.38 billion on November 12 to $12 billion on December 14, one month later. By mid December Lewis began looking for a way out of the deal before the scheduled closing date in late January. Both the Fed and the U.S. Treasury Secretary, resisting that Lewis walk away, threatened to fire Lewis and replace the board at B of A if the merger didn’t take place. Lewis, afraid of legalities from not disclosing the losses to their shareholders before the vote, and the drop in B of A’s share price due to Merrill’s losses found himself in the biggest ethical dilemma of his life. Should he maximize shareholders’ profit and walk away from the deal? Should he continue on with the merger as the Fed states, there are larger...
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...Research Proposal: Finance; (Financial Engineering, Financial Mathematics & Risk Management) By:Syed Asad Raza Naqvi Index Introduction and Background………………………………………………………………………….3 Interested areas for research and further study (Research Proposal)……………….3 Further explanation of the intended research topics………………………………………..4 Securitization…………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 Credit Derivatives…………………………………………………………………………………………….6 Hybrid Products……………………………………………………………………………………………….7 Re-Securitization……………………………………………………………………………………………..8 Contribution of these products towards Financial Crisis…………………………………..8 Improper Risk Management role in Financial Crisis………………………………………….9 Risks………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..10 Market Risk……………………………………………………………………………………………………..11 Credit Risk……………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 Liquidity Risk……………………………………………………………………………………………………11 Interest Rates and the Financial Crisis………………………………………………………………12 Relation between low interest rate and financial crisis…………………………………….12 Role of Rating Agencies……………………………………………………………………………………14 Structure Finance Products and Rating Agencies……………………………………………..14 Regulations Then and Now………………………………………………………………………………15 BASEL II……………………………………………………………………………………………………………16 Enhancements of Basel II…………………………………………………………………………………18 The Resecuritisation Exposure Using IRB Approach………………………………………….18 The Resecuritisation Exposure Using Standardized Approach…………………………...
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...global financial crisis Case: Investment banking in 2008 (A): Rise and fall of the Bear (KEL378) 1. What role did Bear’s culture play in its positioning vis-à-vis its competitors, and what role might that culture have played in its demise? 2. 2. How did Bear’s potential collapse differ from that of LTCM in the eyes of the Federal Reserve? 3. What would Bear have done differently to avoid its fate? a. - In the early 2000s? b. - During the summer of 2007? c. - During the week of March 10, 2008? 4. Who stood to benefit from Bear’s implosion? 5. Is market perception of liquidity more important for an investment bank than it is for an traditional manufacturing or distribution business? If so, why? 6. How could Bear have addressed perceptions of its liquidity? Could it have stopped the run on the bank, and if so, how? 7. Did Bear’s failure undermine the viability of so called “pure-play” investment banks? 8. What role should the Fed play in maintaining order in world securities markets? Case: Investment banking in 2008 (B): A brave new world (KEL380) 1. Why were proponents of deregulation so successful in the late 1990s? How much can we blame deregulation for the meltdown in the investment banking industry? And how could the government have foreseen and/or stopped the domino effect before the crisis of...
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...and global financial crisis Case: Investment banking in 2008 (A): Rise and fall of the Bear (KEL378) 1. What role did Bear’s culture play in its positioning vis-à-vis its competitors, and what role might that culture have played in its demise? 2. How did Bear’s potential collapse differ from that of LTCM in the eyes of the Federal Reserve? 3. What would Bear have done differently to avoid its fate? A. - In the early 2000s? B. - During the summer of 2007? C. - During the week of March 10, 2008? 4. Who stood to benefit from Bear’s implosion? 5. Is market perception of liquidity more important for an investment bank than it is for an traditional manufacturing or distribution business? If so, why? 6. How could Bear have addressed perceptions of its liquidity? Could it have stopped the run on the bank, and if so, how? 7. Did Bear’s failure undermine the viability of so called “pure-play” investment banks? 8. What role should the Fed play in maintaining order in world securities markets? Case: Investment banking in 2008 (B): A brave new world (KEL380) 1. Why were proponents of deregulation so successful in the late 1990s? How much can we blame deregulation for the meltdown in the investment banking industry? And how could the government have foreseen and/or stopped the domino effect before the crisis of 2008? 2. Could...
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...conference. But you go to the conference with the talk you have, and not the talk you wish you had. So let me start. These days I wake up. Blearly-eyed, I stumble down the stairs. And while I am eating my wheaties the macroeconomic situation hits me. And I stop, with the spoon halfway between the bowl and my mouth. I then find myself thinking: 1 J. Bradford DeLong This cannot be real. This has to be some horrible mistake, some dystopian alternate timeline--like that Star Trek episode with the transporter malfunction and evil-Spock-with-a-beard... And then I stare unproductively at the wall for a while as I try to piece together how exactly we got here. What I Was Saying Two Years Ago Last week I went back and looked at all of my talks from the fall and winter of 2008. Back then I was ringing changes on three themes: 1. We are in substantial trouble: the collapse of the housing bubble triggered a mortgagefinance crisis that snowballed into a general financial crisis and a flight to safety that would, if unchecked, produce the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression itself. 2. Normal stabilizing monetary policy tools cannot help us any more. The standard policy moves we use to stabilize demand and production 2 J. Bradford DeLong and prevent or cushion downturns have already been used to the full and cannot help us any more. 3. Nevertheless, we are going to get out of this with only minor damage to the economy, for we do have (a) the technocratic...
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...AFTER THE BAILOUT: REGULATING SYSTEMIC MORAL HAZARD* Karl S. Okamoto ** How do we prevent excessive risk taking in the financial markets? This Essay offers a strategy for regulating financial markets to better prevent the kind of disaster we saw during the Financial Crisis of 2008. By developing a model of risk-manager decisionmaking, this Essay illustrates how even “good people” acting in utterly rational and expected ways brought us into economic turmoil. The assertion of this Essay is that the root cause of the Financial Crisis was systemic moral hazard. Systemic moral hazard poses a unique challenge in crafting a regulatory response. The challenge lies in that the best response to systemic moral hazard is “predictive prevention.” It is inherently difficult to reward individuals for producing predictive prevention. Unsurprisingly, markets fail to produce it at optimal levels and thus cannot prevent systemic moral hazard and the kind of crises that ensue. The difficulty in valuing predictive prevention is seen when we model how risk managers make decisions regarding the prevention of excessive risk. The model reveals how the balance can be tipped in favor of risk taking that leads to systemic failure and broad social harm. The model also reveals how regulation might work to reset the balance to one that is superior for society. We can achieve optimal risktaking decisionmaking in two ways: (1) by requiring all asset managers in the market to put their own money at risk in...
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...Quantitative Easing: Entrance and Exit Strategies by Alan S. Blinder, Princeton University CEPS Working Paper No. 204 March 2010 Acknowledgements: Paper prepared for the Homer Jones Memorial Lecture at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, April 1, 2010. I am grateful to Gauti Eggertsson, Todd Keister, Jamie McAndrews, Paul Mizen, John Taylor, Alexander Wolman, and Michael Woodford for extremely useful comments on an earlier draft, and to Princeton’s Center for Economic Policy Studies for research support. Apparently, it can happen here. On December 16, 2008, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), in an effort to fight what was shaping up to be the worst recession since 1937, reduced the federal funds rate to nearly zero. 1 From then on, with all of its conventional ammunition spent, the Federal Reserve was squarely in the brave new world of quantitative easing. Chairman Ben Bernanke tried to call the Fed’s new policies “credit easing,” probably to differentiate them from what the Bank of Japan had done earlier in the decade, but the label did not stick. 2 Roughly speaking, quantitative easing refers to changes in the composition and/or size of the central bank’s balance sheet that are designed to ease liquidity and/or credit conditions. Presumably, reversing these policies constitutes “quantitative tightening,” but nobody seems to use that terminology. The discussion refers instead to the “exit strategy,” indicating that quantitative easing (“QE”) is looked upon as...
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...In re : : LEHMAN BROTHERS HOLDINGS INC., : et al., : : Debtors. : ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ x Chapter 11 Case No. 08‐13555 (JMP) (Jointly Administered) REPORT OF ANTON R. VALUKAS, EXAMINER March 11, 2010 Jenner & Block LLP 353 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654‐3456 312‐222‐9350 919 Third Avenue 37th Floor New York, NY 10022‐3908 212‐891‐1600 Counsel to the Examiner VOLUME 1 OF 9 Sections I & II: Introduction, Executive Summary & Procedural Background Section III.A.1: Risk EXAMINER’S REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME 1 Introduction, Sections I & II: Executive Summary & Procedural Background Introduction ...................................................................................................................................2 I. Executive Summary of The Examiner’s Conclusions ......................................................15 A. Why Did Lehman Fail? Are There Colorable Causes of Action That Arise From Its Financial Condition and Failure?..................................................................15 B. Are There Administrative Claims or Colorable Claims For Preferences or Voidable Transfers? ........................................................................................................24 C. Do Colorable Claims ...
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...Money, Banking, and the Financial System, 2e (Hubbard/O'Brien) Chapter 1 Introducing Money and the Financial System 1.1 Key Components of the Financial System 1) The financial system is primarily a means by which A) funds are transferred from savers to borrowers. B) money is put into circulation. C) the government puts into operation its plans for the economy. D) business firms distribute their goods. Answer: A Diff: 1 Page Ref: 4 Topic: financial system Objective: Identify the key components of the financial system AACSB: Reflective Thinking 2) Which of the following is NOT a financial asset? A) a bond issued by Google B) Wells Fargo Bank C) a home mortgage loan D) a certificate of deposit Answer: B Diff: 1 Page Ref: 2 Topic: financial assets Objective: Identify the key components of the financial system AACSB: Reflective Thinking 3) If you buy a bond issued by Intel, the bond is a(n): A) liability to Intel and an asset to you. B) liability to you and an asset to Intel. C) liability to both you and Intel. D) asset to both you and Intel. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4 Topic: financial assets Objective: Identify the key components of the financial system AACSB: Reflective Thinking 4) Which of the following forms the largest share of household holdings of financial assets? A) corporate equities B) bank deposits C) pension funds reserves D) life insurance Answer: C Diff: 1 Page Ref: 9 Topic: financial assets Special Feature: Making the Connection...
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