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Articles 1 - 30 of 57
Full-Text Articles in Law
Defi: Shadow Banking 2.0?, Hilary J. Allen
Defi: Shadow Banking 2.0?, Hilary J. Allen
William & Mary Law Review
The growth of so-called “shadow banking” was a significant contributor to the financial crisis of 2008, which had huge social costs that we still grapple with today. Our financial regulatory system still has not fully figured out how to address the risks of the derivatives, securitizations, and money market mutual funds that comprised Shadow Banking 1.0, but we are already facing the prospect of Shadow Banking 2.0 in the form of decentralized finance, or “DeFi.” DeFi’s proponents speak of a future where sending money is as easy as sending a photograph—but money is not the same as a photograph. The …
Regulating Crypto, On And Off The Chain, Eric D. Chason
Regulating Crypto, On And Off The Chain, Eric D. Chason
William & Mary Law Review
Cryptocurrency had its most turbulent year in 2022. The collapse of TerraUSD ushered in a broad market decline, and the FTX debacle brought new publicity and scrutiny to crypto’s woes. Both events will likely spark new regulation and legislation.
Policymakers and regulators should regulate market structures like exchanges. While many cryptocurrencies are extremely transparent and require little if any additional disclosures, others are plagued by serious informational asymmetries. An exchange might allow participants to trade Bitcoin, and regulators need to protect investors who rely on such exchanges. Investors may face informational asymmetries regarding the operation and safety of the exchange. …
Why Comparability Is A Greater Problem Than Greenwashing In Esg Etfs, Ryan Clements
Why Comparability Is A Greater Problem Than Greenwashing In Esg Etfs, Ryan Clements
William & Mary Business Law Review
This Article argues that comparability in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) exchange traded funds (ETFs) is a much greater problem than greenwashing. Rising demand for sustainable investment products in recent years has been met with an explosion in ESG ETF varieties, and numerous ESG-themed funds have captured massive capital inflows. There is little evidence, however, that deceptive “greenwashing” is widespread in ETFs. ETF issuers face significant reputational costs from such behavior, and there are effectively no consumer switching costs for hyperliquid, easily accessible ETFs. While nondeceptive practices of asset managers are observable in the zero-sum, highly competitive, asset management game …
Fraud Against Financial Institutions: Judging Materiality Post-Escobar, Matthew A. Edwards
Fraud Against Financial Institutions: Judging Materiality Post-Escobar, Matthew A. Edwards
William & Mary Business Law Review
In Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (1999), the Supreme Court held that proof of materiality is required for convictions under the federal mail, wire and bank fraud statutes. During the past 20 years, the federal courts have endeavored to apply the complex common law concept of materiality to the federal criminal law context. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016), a civil case involving the False Claims Act, provided the federal appellate courts with an ideal opportunity to reconsider materiality standards in federal fraud …
Decentralized Finance: Regulating Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Kristin N. Johnson
Decentralized Finance: Regulating Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Kristin N. Johnson
William & Mary Law Review
Global financial markets are in the midst of a transformative movement. The creation of Bitcoin and Facebook’s proposed distribution of Diem mark a watershed moment in the evolution of the financial markets ecosystem. Purportedly, peer-to-peer distributed digital ledger technology eliminates legacy financial market intermediaries such as investment banks, depository banks, exchanges, clearinghouses, and broker-dealers.
Yet careful examination reveals that cryptocurrency issuers and the firms that offer secondary market cryptocurrency trading services have not quite lived up to their promise. Notwithstanding cryptoenthusiasts’ calls for disintermediation, evidence reveals that platforms that facilitate cryptocurrency trading frequently employ the long-adopted intermediation practices of their …
Contractual Tax Reform, Michael Abramowicz, Andrew Blair-Stanek
Contractual Tax Reform, Michael Abramowicz, Andrew Blair-Stanek
William & Mary Law Review
One-size-fits-all taxation fails to accommodate diverse taxpayer circumstances. This Article proposes allowing taxpayers to contract into alternative tax regimes administered by private intermediaries. Participating taxpayers would make payments to the intermediaries pursuant to contract, and the intermediaries would be required to pay to the government at least as much as these taxpayers would have paid the government otherwise. That amount is determined based on the actual tax receipts of a control group, taxpayers who wish to contract with an intermediary but instead are chosen at random to continue under the status quo. These alternative tax regimes might better accommodate taxpayers’ …
Modernizing The Bank Charter, David Zaring
Modernizing The Bank Charter, David Zaring
William & Mary Law Review
The banking charter—the license a bank needs to obtain before it can open—has become the centerpiece of an argument about what finance should do for the rest of the economy, both in academia and at the banking agencies. Some advocates have proposed using the charter to pursue industrial policy or to end shadow banking. Some regulators have proposed giving financial technology firms bank charters, potentially breaking down the traditionally high walls between banking and commerce. An empirical survey of chartering decisions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency suggests that chartering is best understood as an ultracautious licensing …
Legal Literature Review Of Social Entrepreneurship And Impact Investing (2007-2017): Doing Good By Doing Business, Deborah Burand, Anne Tucker
Legal Literature Review Of Social Entrepreneurship And Impact Investing (2007-2017): Doing Good By Doing Business, Deborah Burand, Anne Tucker
William & Mary Business Law Review
Although the ambition to do good by doing business is not new, the burgeoning realization of this ambition is. As the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing advance in size, scope and complexity, questions about the roles of corporations and capital markets in society intensify.
What is legal scholarship contributing to this discussion? This Article reviews the scholarly contributions of 260 articles written by over 150 authors about the fields of social enterprise, social finance, and impact investing. The Article maps the contributions of legal scholarship over the last decade—from 2007 (when the term “impact investing” was first coined) …
Could Distributed Ledger Shares Lead To An Increase In Stockholder-Approved Mergers And Subsequently An Increase In Exercise Of Appraisal Rights?, Alyson Brown
William & Mary Business Law Review
Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology underlying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is poised to revolutionize industries and processes across disciplines. In particular, government agencies and companies are looking for ways to leverage blockchain’s efficiencies to facilitate safe record-keeping. Municipalities are employing blockchain-issued deeds to accurately record property ownership. Progressive legal professionals are employing blockchainissued “smart-contracts” to more accurately record contract terms. Intellectual property attorneys and related government agencies are researching blockchain-issued copyrights and patents.
This Note examines how utilizing blockchain technology in securities trading to maintain accurate stockholder ledgers will allow for current market forces to be reflected in stockholder voting. Further, …
Evaluating The Costs And Benefits Of A Smart Contract Blockchain Framework For Credit Default Swaps, Ryan Clements
Evaluating The Costs And Benefits Of A Smart Contract Blockchain Framework For Credit Default Swaps, Ryan Clements
William & Mary Business Law Review
Despite wide speculation about its use-value, there are very few large-scale Blockchain implementations, particularly in sophisticated financial applications and mature markets. The extent of Blockchain’s disruptive potential in these domains is uncertain. This Article considers Blockchain’s use-value for credit default swap contract execution, fulfillment, and post-trade processing by using, as an assessment base, a series of derivative industry whitepapers, academic and technological evaluative studies, and commentary relating to current market undertakings. In summary, when applied to credit default swaps, there are many barriers to implementation, as well as costs, fragmentation risks, technological deficiencies, and practical drawbacks. As a result, there …
Reinventing The Wheel: How Securitization Can Bolster The Market For Residential Energy Efficiency Loans, Joseph Gonyeau
Reinventing The Wheel: How Securitization Can Bolster The Market For Residential Energy Efficiency Loans, Joseph Gonyeau
William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
Currently, one of society’s greatest goals is the reduction of greenhouse gases. This goal is generally accepted worldwide, as evidenced by the Paris Climate Agreement, the parties to which agreed to establish frameworks for adopting clean energy and reducing greenhouse gases. After the United States’ controversial decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the federal government’s future in reducing greenhouse gases remains uncertain. Despite this setback, there are existing programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gases in the United States that the government should ensure succeed. One such program is the Warehouse for Energy Efficiency Loans (“WHEEL”).
WHEEL operates as a …
Borrowing In The Shadow Of Death: Another Look At Probate Lending, David Horton
Borrowing In The Shadow Of Death: Another Look At Probate Lending, David Horton
William & Mary Law Review
“Fringe” lending has long been controversial. Three decades ago, demand for subprime credit soared, and businesses started to offer high-interest rate cash advances, such as tax refund anticipation loans, payday loans, and pension loans. These products have sparked intense debate and are subject to a maze of rules.
However, in Probate Lending, published in the Yale Law Journal, a coauthor and I examined a form of fringe lending that has gone largely unnoticed: firms that pay lump sums in return for an heir or beneficiary’s interest in a pending decedent’s estate. Capitalizing on a California law that requires …
Going … Going … Public? Taking A United States Professional Sports League Public, Ian A. Mclin
Going … Going … Public? Taking A United States Professional Sports League Public, Ian A. Mclin
William & Mary Business Law Review
The four major American professional sports leagues—the MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL—are wildly popular, but the leagues fail to capitalize fully on their success because they are organized in a largely inefficient manner. By organizing as unincorporated non-profits, leagues forgo their ability to raise capital via investors, forcing taxpayers to bear the burden of league investments such as new stadium construction. Further, the current organizational model creates a collective action problem, as self-interested team owners focus their support on actions that benefit their own franchise and leave ineffective commissioners in power.
A solution to these problems is for a professional …
Ecological Economics And Sport Stadium Public Financing, Christopher M. Mcleod, John T. Holden
Ecological Economics And Sport Stadium Public Financing, Christopher M. Mcleod, John T. Holden
William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
Given the recent importance that sport organizations, academics, and the public have placed on environmental sustainability this Article introduces the study of ecological economics—founded upon Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s application of thermodynamics to economics—to legal perspectives on public financing. The authors argue that the economic growth limits implied by thermodynamic principles should be incorporated in the public financing of sport stadiums. More specifically, municipalities can require facilities receiving public financing to produce environmental cost accounting reports and to make them publically available.
A “Green” Approach To Hedge Fund Regulation And Reform, Matthew Keehn
A “Green” Approach To Hedge Fund Regulation And Reform, Matthew Keehn
William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
No abstract provided.
Rethinking Corporate Governance For A Bondholder Financed, Systemically Risky World, Steven L. Schwarcz
Rethinking Corporate Governance For A Bondholder Financed, Systemically Risky World, Steven L. Schwarcz
William & Mary Law Review
This Article makes two arguments that, combined, demonstrate an important synergy: first, including bondholders in corporate governance could help to reduce systemic risk because bondholders are more risk averse than shareholders; second, corporate governance should include bondholders because bonds now dwarf equity as a source of corporate financing and bond prices are increasingly tied to firm performance.
You Can’T Stop What You Can’T See: Complementary Risk Mitigation Through Compensation Disclosure, Matt Reeder
You Can’T Stop What You Can’T See: Complementary Risk Mitigation Through Compensation Disclosure, Matt Reeder
William & Mary Business Law Review
Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires regulators to help prevent the next financial crisis by monitoring executive compensation arrangements to prevent them from becoming excessive or leading to “material financial loss.” A now-pending rule seeks to do just this. This Article argues that the rule is well-conceived inasmuch as it limits the total portion of compensation that can be based on risk-inducing incentives, ties incentive-based compensation to longer-term performance, places a ceiling on potential incentivebased earnings, provides for downward adjustment and clawbacks, prohibits many hedging behaviors, and institutionalizes governance mechanisms and oversight policies. But, by placing a number of …
If It Looks Like A Super Pac, Acts Like A Super Pac, And Is Restricted Like A Super Pac, Then Treat It Like A Super Pac: Why Contribution Limits On A Hybrid Pac’S Independent-Expenditure Arm Are Impermissible, Jacob N. Kipp
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
No abstract provided.
Crash And Learn: The Inability Of Transparency Laws To Penetrate American Monetary Policy, Benjamin W. Cramer, Martin E. Halstuk
Crash And Learn: The Inability Of Transparency Laws To Penetrate American Monetary Policy, Benjamin W. Cramer, Martin E. Halstuk
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
No abstract provided.
The Volcker Rule And The Presumption Against Extraterritoriality: Utterly Incompatible, Christine P. Henry
The Volcker Rule And The Presumption Against Extraterritoriality: Utterly Incompatible, Christine P. Henry
William & Mary Business Law Review
The Volcker Rule, enacted in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Consumer Protection Act to address the too big to fail problem in todays interconnected global economy, has been controversial from the outset. The deadline for banks to comply with Volcker regulations has been extended several times, with the most recent deadline set for July 21, 2016. This Note examines the impact of the Volcker Rule on foreign banks, detailing the specific effects of Volcker regulations on two prominent German banks, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, and analyzes the countervailing European approach to regulating proprietary trading and risky investment. …
The Global Significance Of Crowdfunding: Solving The Sme Funding Problem And Democratizing Access To Capital, Alma Pekmezovic, Gordon Walker
The Global Significance Of Crowdfunding: Solving The Sme Funding Problem And Democratizing Access To Capital, Alma Pekmezovic, Gordon Walker
William & Mary Business Law Review
This Article provides a comprehensive review of the crowdfunding phenomenon. It argues that equity crowdfunding (ECF) and, to a lesser extent, peer-to-peer lending (P2PL) offer the possibility of a global solution to the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) funding problem. In the United States, the SME funding problem is exacerbated by the markedly diminishing rate of startup formation, a factor that injects a degree of urgency into resolving the optimal means to implement ECF. Here, as with the fin-tech revolution, the law lags behind technological developments. The second main argument is that ECF enhances access to capital for SMEs globally …
The Emperor’S New Clothes: How The Judicial System And The Housing-Mortgage Market Have Turned A Blind Eye To The Destruction Of The Negotiability Of Mortgage Promissory Notes, Roy D. Oppenheim, Jacquelyn K. Trask-Rahn
The Emperor’S New Clothes: How The Judicial System And The Housing-Mortgage Market Have Turned A Blind Eye To The Destruction Of The Negotiability Of Mortgage Promissory Notes, Roy D. Oppenheim, Jacquelyn K. Trask-Rahn
William & Mary Business Law Review
This Article examines the common notions of negotiable instruments as they relate to the modern day promissory note in the context of residential mortgage lending. The Article further addresses the destruction of the negotiability of such promissory notes through various undertakings added for the benefit of the banking industry, often to the detriment of a borrower. The use of negotiable instruments commenced in the 1800s in England as a way of ensuring a fluid market between trades as there was no fiat currency system in place. The fundamental purpose behind the concept of negotiability was subsequently abrogated by the modernization …
Lending Discrimination, The Foreclosure Crisis And The Perpetuation Of Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Homeownership In The U.S., Aleatra P. Williams
Lending Discrimination, The Foreclosure Crisis And The Perpetuation Of Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Homeownership In The U.S., Aleatra P. Williams
William & Mary Business Law Review
For decades the agencies charged with minding the ‘fair credit and lending’ shop turned a blind eye to those (lenders) who pilfered minority homeownership (and consequently minority wealth) by extending mortgage lending products that were, in many cases, unequal to similarly situated non-minority counterparts. Since the 1950s, when the federal government endorsed homeownership policies for minorities, and the 1960s, when antidiscriminatory D9lending laws were enacted, access to fair mortgage credit has been unattainable. Unbridled lending discrimination culminated in massive foreclosures for a disproportionate number of minority homeowners during the Housing and Foreclosure Crisis. Lenders disparately foreclosed upon upper class, middle …
The Post-2008 Lending Environment And The Need For Raising The Credit Union Member Business Lending Cap, Thomas Zells
The Post-2008 Lending Environment And The Need For Raising The Credit Union Member Business Lending Cap, Thomas Zells
William & Mary Business Law Review
While the economy has gradually begun to improve following the 2008 Financial Crisis, “Main Street” has not played a large role in the recovery. This is atypical of most recoveries, and particularly disturbing because of the disproportionate number of jobs traditionally created by small businesses. Credit unions, but for the current statutorily imposed cap on their business lending authority, could substantially aid Main Street’s recovery. The cap currently restricts a credit union’s member business lending to 12.25 percent of its total assets and chills their ability to engage in business lending or to even invest in developing business lending programs …
The Separation Of Intelligence And Control: Retirement Savings And The Limits Of Soft Paternalism, Jacob Hale Russell
The Separation Of Intelligence And Control: Retirement Savings And The Limits Of Soft Paternalism, Jacob Hale Russell
William & Mary Business Law Review
“Soft paternalism” is in vogue among academics and lawmakers, but too much is being asked of it. This Article studies soft paternalist techniques—including nudging and disclosure—which have been used in the employersponsored retirement system. Defined-contribution retirement plans represent an ideal test case for libertarian paternalism: there has been extensive experimentation, and nudge advocates have often held up such plans as successes. In particular, this Article focuses on investment allocation decisions in retirement portfolios, and suggests that we should be skeptical of the ability of soft paternalism to improve those decisions. When a domain is rife with conflicts of interest—as in …
The Hedge Fund Regulation Dilemma: Direct Vs. Indirect Regulation, Hossein Nabilou, Alessio M. Pacces
The Hedge Fund Regulation Dilemma: Direct Vs. Indirect Regulation, Hossein Nabilou, Alessio M. Pacces
William & Mary Business Law Review
This Article studies regulatory strategies to address the potential systemic risk of hedge fund operation in financial markets. Due to the implications of the choice of regulatory strategies and instruments in terms of mitigating systemic risk, the Article focuses on one critical aspect of hedge fund regulation, namely the choice between direct regulation and indirect regulation. This Article defines the distinction between direct and indirect regulation, maps this distinction’s implications in terms of regulatory techniques and instruments, and analyzes the arguments for and against direct and indirect regulation of hedge funds. This Article argues that the indirect regulation of hedge …
Superior Supererogation: Why Credit Default Swaps Are Securities Under The Investment Advisers Act Of 1940, J. Tyler Kirk
Superior Supererogation: Why Credit Default Swaps Are Securities Under The Investment Advisers Act Of 1940, J. Tyler Kirk
William & Mary Business Law Review
No abstract provided.
Broker-Dealers, Institutional Investors, And Fiduciary Duty: Much Ado About Nothing?, Lynn Bai
Broker-Dealers, Institutional Investors, And Fiduciary Duty: Much Ado About Nothing?, Lynn Bai
William & Mary Business Law Review
Under the mandate of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the SEC is soliciting public opinions on whether broker-dealers should be subject to a fiduciary duty when advising retail and institutional investors. This Article focuses on the advisability of such a proposal for institutional investors. It shows that, first, a fiduciary duty could potentially enhance broker-dealers’ standard of conduct for only a subset of institutional investors who are well capitalized, capable of assessing risks independently, and acknowledge in writing their nonreliance on broker-dealers’ advice. Thus, the benefit of fiduciary duty is much narrower than what …
Property And Mortgage Fraud Under The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act: What Is Stolen And When Is It Returned?, Arthur Durst
Property And Mortgage Fraud Under The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act: What Is Stolen And When Is It Returned?, Arthur Durst
William & Mary Business Law Review
The United States Circuit Courts of Appeals are split on how to calculate restitution in a criminal loan fraud situation where collateral is involved. This trend is best illustrated in cases involving mortgage fraud. The split stems from disagreement over how to account for the lender’s receipt of collateral property. The Third, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals consider the property returned when the person defrauded receives cash from the sale of collateral property. The Second, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits deem the property returned when the lender takes ownership of the collateral property. This Note argues that the …
The Impossible, Highly Desired Islamic Bank, Haider Ala Hamoudi
The Impossible, Highly Desired Islamic Bank, Haider Ala Hamoudi
William & Mary Business Law Review
The purpose of this Article is to explore, and explain the stubborn persistence of, a central paradox that is endemic to the retail Islamic bank as it operates in the United States. The paradox is that retail Islamic banking in the United States is impossible, and yet it remains highly desired. It is impossible because central features of modern banking regulation conflict with fundamental aspects of shari’a as it is understood in modernity in the context of finance. It is unimaginable that regulators will create exceptions to, or somehow significantly amend, the modern financial regulatory system in the radical fashion …