Bank Capital and the Death of Basel Endgame
The FinReg Pod
Professor Anat Admati, co-author of The Bankers’ New Clothes, discusses the new and expanded edition of her groundbreaking book. Anat and Lee reflect on the persistent fragility of the banking system, the Federal Reserve’s Basel Endgame proposal, and the future of international regulatory coordination. Anat also shares her insights on why stronger bank equity requirements are essential and how myths perpetuated by the banking industry continue to shape public policy. Related Links:
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Earned Wage Access: Innovation or Payday 2.0?
The FinReg Pod
Yasmin Farahi and Lucia Constantine from the Center for Responsible Lending discuss the promises and perils of Earned Wage Access programs. Discover how these fintech products operate, the financial traps they can create, and the regulatory debates shaping their future. Related Links:
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Regulating Data Brokers in Financial Services
The FinReg Pod
Justin Sherman is the founder and CEO of Global Cyber Strategies, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and an adjunct professor and senior fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, where he founded and leads its data brokerage research project. He joins Lee to discuss how data brokers obtain and use sensitive data, the role they play in financial services, and the current regulatory landscape attempting to address these practices. Lee’s X: @leereiners Justin’s X: @jshermcyber Related Links:
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Betting on Elections
The FinReg Pod
Dan Berkovitz and Laurian Cristea discuss the regulatory and ethical challenges surrounding political event contracts. They explore the history, recent legal developments, and the future implications of betting on political outcomes, especially as the CFTC tightens its stance on these controversial markets. Lee’s X: @leereiners Related Links: CFTC proposed amendments to its rules concerning event contracts in certain excluded commodities: Elections Bets Go Live on Kalshi After CFTC's Court Loss: US appeals court clears Kalshi to restart elections betting: Statement of Chairman...
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Do Nonbank Mortgage Companies Threaten Financial Stability?
The FinReg Pod
Ed DeMarco is president of the Housing Policy Council and former acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He discusses the rise of nonbank mortgage companies and what the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s recent report on nonbank mortgage servicing gets right and what it gets wrong. Ed also offers his thoughts on the FHFA’s Title Insurance Waiver Pilot Program, Freddie Mac's proposal to purchase second mortgages, and the CFPB’s inquiry into junk fees in mortgage closing costs. Finally, DeMarco shares his views on Kamala Harris’ housing policy proposals and their...
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Finishing the Progressive Financial Reform Agenda
The FinReg Pod
Graham Steele is the former Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He discusses insights from his latest paper for the Roosevelt Institute, "The End of Banking History? Finishing the Unfinished Business of Financial Reform." From the impact of the 2018 deregulatory “tailoring” project, which weakened post-crisis reforms, to the cascading failures of regional banks like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in 2023, Graham laid out his view on why the current regulatory framework is falling short and what needs to change. Graham’s X:...
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Reforming the Federal Home Loan Banks
The FinReg Pod
Kathryn Judge is a professor at Columbia Law School and Aaron Klein is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. They discuss the origins of the Federal Home Loan Banks, the role they played in propping up failing banks in the 2023 regional banking crisis, and their ideas for how the FHLBs can be reformed to better fulfill their public mission to promote housing and community development. Kate Judge’s X: @ProfKateJudge Aaron Klein’s X: @Aarondklein Lee’s X: @leereiners Related Links: Comment Letter on FHLB Mission Statemen, Kathryn Judge and Aaron Klein: Forum on the future...
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Index Funds and Private Equity: How Corporate Power Shapes Markets and Democracy
The FinReg Pod
John Coates is the John F. Cogan, Jr. Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School and author of “The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything.” According to John, a problem of twelve arises when a small number of institutions acquire the means to exert outsized influence over the politics and economy of a nation. In this episode, John discusses insights from his book and how the concentration of corporate power in the hands of a small group of institutional investors, specifically index funds and private equity funds, undermines our democracy. ...
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What the Regional Bank Failures of 2023 Reveal About Ending Too Big to Fail
The FinReg Pod
Art Wilmarth, Professor Emeritus of Law at the George Washington University Law School, reflects on the regional banking crisis of spring 2023 and how decisions made by regulators to resolve Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, and Credit Suisse reveal that we have still not solved the Too Big to Fail problem. Lee’s X: @leereiners Lee’s Website: Related Links: The FDIC’s resolution plan for failed megabanks is an empty promise: Regulators should reject big-bank arguments against stronger capital requirements: We Need a New Glass-Steagall Act to End the...
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How to Stop a Bank Run
The FinReg Pod
Eric Spitler, former Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the FDIC, discusses his paper on the history of bank runs and how he would reform deposit insurance to address the weaknesses revealed by last spring’s regional banking crisis. Lee’s X: @leereiners Related Links: Yelling 'Fire' in the Financial Theater: Bank Runs in the Social Media Age and the Threat to Financial Stability: The Deposit Insurance Funds as an Early Resolution Tool:
info_outlineYasmin Farahi and Lucia Constantine from the Center for Responsible Lending discuss the promises and perils of Earned Wage Access programs. Discover how these fintech products operate, the financial traps they can create, and the regulatory debates shaping their future.
Related Links:
A Loan Shark in Your Pocket: The Perils of Earned Wage Advance
Not Free: The Large Hidden Costs of Small-Dollar Loans Made Through Cash Advance Apps