Rethinking Corporate Law During a Financial Crisis

Rethinking Corporate Law During a Financial Crisis PDF Author: Yair Listokin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description
Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, most reform measures and discussions have asked how the law of financial regulation could be improved to prevent or mitigate future crises. These discussions give short shrift to the role played by corporate law during the Financial Crisis of 2008 and other financial crises. One critical regulatory tool during the crisis was “regulation by deal,” in which healthy financial firms (“acquirers”) would hastily acquire failing firms (“targets”) to mitigate the crisis. The deals were governed by corporate law, so corporate law played an outsize role in the response to the crisis. But few observers have asked how corporate law--in addition to financial regulation--should govern dealmaking in financial crises. To fill in this gap, this Article focuses on the role played by corporate law during the Financial Crisis of 2008, and asks whether corporate law should be different during a financial crisis than in ordinary times. Using an externality framework--failure of a systemically important firm can harm the entire economy, and not just the shareholders of the failed firm--this Article identifies a key problem with the current corporate law regime as applied in financial crises: the shareholder value maximization principle as applied to failing target companies. This principle, manifested in the form of shareholder voting rights on mergers and board fiduciary duties to shareholders, is inapplicable to systemically important target firms whose failure would have enormous negative externalities on the rest of the economy. This Article contends that corporate law as applied to systemically important, failing target firms during crises should change as follows: (1) replace shareholder merger voting rights with appraisal rights, and (2) alter fiduciary duties so that directors and officers of those failing target firms consider the interests of the broader economy.

Rethinking Corporate Law During a Financial Crisis

Rethinking Corporate Law During a Financial Crisis PDF Author: Yair Listokin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 38

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, most reform measures and discussions have asked how the law of financial regulation could be improved to prevent or mitigate future crises. These discussions give short shrift to the role played by corporate law during the Financial Crisis of 2008 and other financial crises. One critical regulatory tool during the crisis was “regulation by deal,” in which healthy financial firms (“acquirers”) would hastily acquire failing firms (“targets”) to mitigate the crisis. The deals were governed by corporate law, so corporate law played an outsize role in the response to the crisis. But few observers have asked how corporate law--in addition to financial regulation--should govern dealmaking in financial crises. To fill in this gap, this Article focuses on the role played by corporate law during the Financial Crisis of 2008, and asks whether corporate law should be different during a financial crisis than in ordinary times. Using an externality framework--failure of a systemically important firm can harm the entire economy, and not just the shareholders of the failed firm--this Article identifies a key problem with the current corporate law regime as applied in financial crises: the shareholder value maximization principle as applied to failing target companies. This principle, manifested in the form of shareholder voting rights on mergers and board fiduciary duties to shareholders, is inapplicable to systemically important target firms whose failure would have enormous negative externalities on the rest of the economy. This Article contends that corporate law as applied to systemically important, failing target firms during crises should change as follows: (1) replace shareholder merger voting rights with appraisal rights, and (2) alter fiduciary duties so that directors and officers of those failing target firms consider the interests of the broader economy.

Rethinking the Financial Crisis

Rethinking the Financial Crisis PDF Author: Alan S. Blinder
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610448154
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
Some economic events are so major and unsettling that they “change everything.” Such is the case with the financial crisis that started in the summer of 2007 and is still a drag on the world economy. Yet enough time has now elapsed for economists to consider questions that run deeper than the usual focus on the immediate causes and consequences of the crisis. How have these stunning events changed our thinking about the role of the financial system in the economy, about the costs and benefits of financial innovation, about the efficiency of financial markets, and about the role the government should play in regulating finance? In Rethinking the Financial Crisis, some of the nation’s most renowned economists share their assessments of particular aspects of the crisis and reconsider the way we think about the financial system and its role in the economy. In its wide-ranging inquiry into the financial crash, Rethinking the Financial Crisis marshals an impressive collection of rigorous and yet empirically-relevant research that, in some respects, upsets the conventional wisdom about the crisis and also opens up new areas for exploration. Two separate chapters–by Burton G. Malkiel and by Hersh Shefrin and Meir Statman – debate whether the facts of the financial crisis upend the efficient market hypothesis and require a more behavioral account of financial market performance. To build a better bridge between the study of finance and the “real” economy of production and employment, Simon Gilchrist and Egan Zakrasjek take an innovative measure of financial stress and embed it in a model of the U.S. economy to assess how disruptions in financial markets affect economic activity—and how the Federal Reserve might do monetary policy better. The volume also examines the crucial role of financial innovation in the evolution of the pre-crash financial system. Thomas Philippon documents the huge increase in the size of the financial services industry relative to real GDP, and also the increasing cost per financial transaction. He suggests that the finance industry of 1900 was just as able to produce loans, bonds, and stocks as its modern counterpart—and it did so more cheaply. Robert Jarrow looks in detail at some of the major types of exotic securities developed by financial engineers, such as collateralized debt obligations and credit-default swaps, reaching judgments on which make the real economy more efficient and which do not. The volume’s final section turns explicitly to regulatory matters. Robert Litan discusses the political economy of financial regulation before and after the crisis. He reviews the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which he considers an imperfect but useful response to a major breakdown in market and regulatory discipline. At a time when the financial sector continues to be a source of considerable controversy, Rethinking the Financial Crisis addresses important questions about the complex workings of American finance and shows how the study of economics needs to change to deepen our understanding of the indispensable but risky role that the financial system plays in modern economies.

The Money Problem

The Money Problem PDF Author: Morgan Ricks
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022633046X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
An “intriguing plan” addressing shadow banking, regulation, and the continuing quest for financial stability (Financial Times). Years have passed since the world experienced one of the worst financial crises in history, and while countless experts have analyzed it, many central questions remain unanswered. Should money creation be considered a “public” or “private” activity—or both? What do we mean by, and want from, financial stability? What role should regulation play? How would we design our monetary institutions if we could start from scratch? In The Money Problem, Morgan Ricks addresses these questions and more, offering a practical yet elegant blueprint for a modernized system of money and banking—one that, crucially, can be accomplished through incremental changes to the United States’ current system. He brings a critical, missing dimension to the ongoing debates over financial stability policy, arguing that the issue is primarily one of monetary system design. The Money Problem offers a way to mitigate the risk of catastrophic panic in the future, and it will expand the financial reform conversation in the United States and abroad. “Highly recommended.” —Choice

Rethinking Regulation of International Finance

Rethinking Regulation of International Finance PDF Author: Uzma Ashraf Barton
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9041189181
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Why have financial standards and institutions almost always failed to effectively predict and respond to real-world financial crises? The answer, this challenging book shows, is that international financial law suffers from a persistent lack of judicial or quasi-judicial enforcement mechanisms, leaving flaws in the structure of the international financial system that lead inevitably to excesses that threaten the public good of global financial stability. The author, an internationally renowned legal expert on financial and fiscal reforms, responds to the increasingly urgent call for rethinking the structure and the functioning of international financial law. Centering on the concept of enforcement – which continues to be an unresolved issue in the discipline of international financial law – the analysis describes the likely contours of hard-law regulatory reform. It weighs the pros and cons of much-talked-about regulatory and policy issues like the following and more: – policy implications from the transformation of finance from a domestic to an international concept; – new or revised supervisory and regulatory bodies with redefined mandate, jurisdictions and powers; – possibility of a treaty-based structure similar to the European Union’s integration framework; and – consolidation of crisis-prevention and crisis-management policies; The analysis takes into account instances from trade and monetary systems pertinent to the development of the discipline of international financial law. A concluding chapter explores possibilities for putting in place an asset-backed resilient financial system based on risk-sharing and empowered to legislate reform and authorized to seek compliance from its members. With its provision of unconventional alternatives for further development of international financial law to realize stable, predictable and robust international markets – including early-warning systems and fully primed crisis-prevention mechanisms – the book explores the essential link between global financial stability, effective regulation and institutional development that will engender realistic global policy solutions. It will prove to be of great importance to regulatory and legal practitioners as well as to academic and think-tank scholars.

Corporate Governance and the Global Financial Crisis

Corporate Governance and the Global Financial Crisis PDF Author: William Sun
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139497235
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
Over the last two decades there has been a notable increase in the number of corporate governance codes and principles, as well as a range of improvements in structures and mechanisms. Despite this, corporate governance failed to prevent a widespread default of fiduciary duties of corporate boards and managerial responsibilities in the finance industry, which contributed to the 2007–10 global financial crisis. This book brings together leading scholars from North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to provide fresh and critical analytical insights on the systemic failures of corporate governance linked to the global financial crisis. Contributors draw from a range of disciplines to demonstrate the severe limitations of the dominant corporate governance framework and its associated market-oriented approach. They provide suggestions on how the governance problems could be tackled to prevent or mitigate any future financial crisis and explore new directions for post-crisis corporate governance research and reforms.

Rethinking Corporate Governance in Financial Institutions

Rethinking Corporate Governance in Financial Institutions PDF Author: Demetra Arsalidou
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134499191
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
There are many deep-seated reasons for the current financial turmoil but a key factor has undoubtedly been the serious failings within the corporate governance practices of financial institutions. There have been shortcomings in the risk management and incentive structures; the boards’ supervision was at times weak; disclosure and accounting standards were in some cases inadequate; the institutional investors’ engagement with management was at times insufficient and, last but not least, the remuneration policies of many large institutions appeared inappropriate. This book will provide a critical overview and analysis of key corporate governance weaknesses, focusing primarily on three main areas: directors’ failure to understand complex company transactions; the poor remuneration practices of financial institutions; and, finally, the failure of institutional investors to sufficiently engage with management. The book, while largely focused on the UK, will also consider EU and Australian developments as well as offering a comparative angle looking at the corporate governance of financial institutions in the US.

Rethinking Corporate Governance

Rethinking Corporate Governance PDF Author: Roger Blanpain
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9041134506
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
Now that the economic orthodoxy of 'light-touch' regulation has been widely discredited by recent events in the financial markets, and shareholder-oriented management has come under intense scrutiny, it is time to seriously consider the merits of stakeholder-oriented economies. In this far-reaching symposium on this aspect of comparative labour relations, 35 scholars examine case studies and evolving scenarios in a wide variety of countries, from leading economic powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany to post-socialist states such as Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria to the formidable global economic presences of Brazil, Russia, and India. With contributions from leading experts from all around the world in the fields of labour law, industrial relations, labour economics, labour statistics, human resources management, organization theory and other related subjects, the papers focus on the impact of the global economic crisis and its implications for the future of employment. Specific contexts covered include: ; adversarial versus strategic collective bargaining; transnational collective bargaining; long-term employees as the most valuable corporate stakeholders; workers' voice and participation in the restructuring of undertakings; privatization of state-owned companies; executive pay; investment in vocational training in times of economic crisis; the impact of the EU's Cross-Border Merger Directive; inherent dangers in the EMU one-size-fits-all monetary policy; and cases of large-scale corporate fraud. Of particular interest is the treatment of important developments in Singapore and Nigeria, as well as lessons to be learned from pitfalls encountered in South Africa and other countries. With its theoretical arguments and empirical data, this volume is certainly a major contribution to the debate over whether shareholder or stakeholder approaches to management yield the best results in terms of employment outcomes. As the world economic crisis continues to take its toll on employment, pension funds, public services, and living standards, the book is sure to find a wide audience among policymakers and lawyers worldwide concerned with the future of employment relations and their effect on both productivity and social stability. This volume includes a selection of papers from the Eighth International Conference in commemoration of Marco Biagi held at the Marco Biagi Foundation in Modena, Italy in March 2010.

Out of Crisis

Out of Crisis PDF Author: David A. Westbrook
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317254910
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Former Federal Reserve chair Greenspan recently said that the risk management paradigm is broken; thus our understanding of financial regulation no longer makes sense. More generally, the current financial crisis obliges us to rethink the relationships among "financial markets" and "governments." In Out of Crisis financial analyst David Westbrook illuminates the intellectual, business, and policy errors that have led us into the present morass. Through a vivid legal and political analysis he shows how the ideologies of the right and left have distorted financial thinking and policy. Learning from these errors, the book sketches the emergence of a new understanding of risk management and bureaucratic regulation. Out of Crisis begins the tasks of rethinking the structures that constitute financial markets and exploring how such structures may be strengthened. Taking responsibility for the markets we build to do so much of our society's work, we may yet become mature capitalists.

Regulatory Cycles: Revisiting the Political Economy of Financial Crises

Regulatory Cycles: Revisiting the Political Economy of Financial Crises PDF Author: Jihad Dagher
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484337743
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 89

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Book Description
Financial crises are traditionally analyzed as purely economic phenomena. The political economy of financial booms and busts remains both under-emphasized and limited to isolated episodes. This paper examines the political economy of financial policy during ten of the most infamous financial booms and busts since the 18th century, and presents consistent evidence of pro-cyclical regulatory policies by governments. Financial booms, and risk-taking during these episodes, were often amplified by political regulatory stimuli, credit subsidies, and an increasing light-touch approach to financial supervision. The regulatory backlash that ensues from financial crises can only be understood in the context of the deep political ramifications of these crises. Post-crisis regulations do not always survive the following boom. The interplay between politics and financial policy over these cycles deserves further attention. History suggests that politics can be the undoing of macro-prudential regulations.

Rethinking Finance in the Face of New Challenges

Rethinking Finance in the Face of New Challenges PDF Author: David Bourghelle
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1801177880
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Rethinking Finance in the Face of New Challenges provides an overview of the new research perspectives devoted to financial activity, reconsidering the opposition between orthodox and heterodox schools of finance.