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Financial Crisis (Work in Progress)

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Stephen Dyer Special Studies: Economics 4950
Spring 2012
Hull College of Business at Augusta State University I. Introduction II. Overview of the World Financial Map
a. International Monetary Fund (IMF) i. The World Bank (TWB)
b. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) i. Committee on Global Financial System (CGFS) ii. Financial Stability Institute (FSI)
c. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS)
d. Financial Stability Board (FSB) III. 2008 and 2011 World Financial Crises
a. The United States of America – 2008
b. The European Union – 2011 IV. Proposed Solutions and Potential Problems V. References I. Introduction

In 2008 the world started to suffer a financial crisis. Originating in the United States it quickly spread, affecting the European Continent first then the rest of the world. This paper will asses the situation on a global spectrum, covering a brief history, and follow up with proposal(s) for avoiding the same, or worse crisis in the future. Current solutions to the problem include greater regulation of the financial sector, nationalization of the banking industry in countries where they currently are private, and possibly another institution in which laws are evaluated by an “Economic Supreme Court” with veto power over legislation (Colignatus, 2009) Section II will give the background of the pre- and post-crisis global financial system, Section III will cover the beginning of the crisis in the United States and its spread to Europe with Section IV giving possible solutions to help the future economy and the problems those solutions might face. II. Overview of the World Financial Map
I AM WORKING ON REVISING THIS FROM THE FIRST PAPER TO INCLUDE MORE INFORMATION. I WILL RESEND THIS SECTION SEPARATE FROM SECTION III III. 2008 and 2011 World Financial Crises
a. United States of America – 2008
The United States has had a short history of financial markets in comparison to the rest of the world. The first Continental Congress issued the “dollar” and the currency of America changed many times until it settled in the early 1900s with the passing of the Gold Standard Act (www2.econ.iastate.edu). With a shaky beginning the United States Dollar developed into the world dominate currency, first through the Bretton Woods System, then through the rapid growth the United States saw in the middle and late 1900s. With the world using the United States dollar as their main reserve it leaves the countries open to market risk should something happen to the United States. In 2004, Basel II was published as an update to the 1988 Basel Accord. The purpose of the Basel Accord is to provide recommendations of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) with respect to the laws and regulations. Basel II was developed with a three pillar concept. The first pillar set capital requirement ratios for country’s banks to meet, the second pillar allows for review of the banking system by the country’s supervisor, the Federal Reserve for the United States. The third pillar of Basel II is the disclosure of the reviews and capital standing of the banks to ensure an effective market place. (Basel II, 2004)
Three other events occurred around 2004 in the United States that pushed the crisis towards a global reach. The “American Dream” from President Bush’s Administration allowed for mortgages to be obtained with no equity needed. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) raised the accounting and capital ratio standards of Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) which allowed private banks to capture a larger part of the mortgage market. The fourth and final event was the SEC allowing investment banks (IB) to voluntarily allow themselves more oversight with the allowance of a significantly greater leverage ratio. (Blundell-Wignall: Current Financial Crisis, 2008) With the increased regulation on the government sponsored enterprises, private banks looked for new venues to sell their mortgages to. The progression led to banks and Non-Operating Holding Companies (NOHC) to create their own special purpose entity (SPE) which allowed them to ‘sell’ their mortgages to a company they established but have no direct ties. These SPEs then took the mortgages and sold them on the secondary market. (Report on SPE, 2009) As the larger companies were not ‘parents’ of the SPEs they could show a low risk-weighted asset (RWA) on their balance sheets and could capitalize on this leverage ability. With the revoking of part of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, holding companies were able to acquire IBs as well as underwrite their own insurance products. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 1999) With the newly adapted leverage ability the IBs had, combined with off-balance sheets of the banks, NOHC looked for a larger market to sell their securities too.
These mortgage backed securities (MBS) spread quickly in the United States due to the advantages of owning homes. Tax deductions, government facilitated lending programs, and tax shelters such as the Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) led to more mortgages being signed and more MBS being sold. (Blundell-Wignall: Current Financial Crisis, 2008) With United States banks showing high profits, European countries followed suit. The countries saw MBS with high credit ratings and insured by other companies so they bought the collateralized debt obligations (CDO) and placed them as assets on their balance sheets. Following the lightened capital ratio required from Basel II, European banks and countries began to increase their holdings of highly rated CDOs. They increased their assets with the CDOs from the United States and turned higher profit margins with the riskier investments due to the reduced capital-weight ratio under Basel II. (FDIC, 2005)
The inevitable downfall came when American companies desired higher profits and began to change their business models. In the 1980s investment banks in America had a strong run with leveraged buyouts (LBO) but they were short lived. High risk companies had junk bonds underwritten by IBs and when the companies couldn’t stay afloat, the lenders also began to freeze up due to their lack of capital to cover the liabilities they were buying. (Stars, 2010) In 2008, the NOHCs began to realize a similar pattern. The mortgages they were packaging and selling were mortgages from sub-prime borrowers. Once these borrowers started to default on their payments, the assets the MBS represented fell. Banks are highly leveraged, they have a high liability to asset ratio, to begin with and the loss of the small assets on their balance sheets causes them to either look for new capital injections, or become insolvent and go bankrupt. With European banks and countries counting on United States MBS as their largest asset, they have no choice but to become insolvent. (Blundell-Wignall: Sub prime Crisis, 2008)
Authorities did not respond immediately to the crisis due to the rate at which it occurred. Under Basel II the second pillar is semi-followed, whereas the third pillar was almost forgotten about in regards to IB. (Blundell-Wignall: Current Financial Crisis, 2008) The following chart shows three companies and part of their corporate make-up along with the assets they loss in the fall.
|Company |Washington Mutual* |Merrill Lynch+ |Lehman Brothers* |
|Subprime losses |$45.6 |$52.2 |$13.8 |
|(billions USD) | | | |
|% Tier 1 Capital |219.1 |165.4 |13.8 |
|Risk committee chair not on |YES |YES |YES |
|board | | | |

*Bankrupt +Absorbed by another company Source: Blundell-Wignall

While many banks and institutions had losses, these three show that the head of their respective risk committees did not sit on the board of directors for their company. With out having some knowledge on the risk that is associated with the CDO, NOHC have less chance in knowing the risks their company is taking. With the lack of transparency from within the company, transparency outside the company is muddled making it difficult for the authorities to see the crisis before it happens.

b. European Union – 2011
Following the downward pull of the United States, the European Union (EU) central banks and countries felt the credit crunch from lack of funds hit the Euro Zone and shortly after Eastern Europe.

IV. Proposed Solutions and Potential Problems

V. References
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (1999), "Recent Developments: Financial Services Reform Enacted", Banking Legislation & Policy 18 (4): 1–4, retrieved April 18,2012.
Terazi, E., & Senel, S. (2011). The Effects of the Global Financial Crisis on the Central and Eastern European Union Countries. International Journal Of Business & Social Science, 2(17), 186-192.
Haidar, J. (2012). Sovereign Credit Risk in the Eurozone. World Economics, 13(1), 123-136.

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