Banking and Finance Law Commons^™

Why U.S. States Need Their Own Cannabis Industry Banks, Christoph Henkel, Randall K. Johnson

Faculty Works

The legal cannabis trade is the fastest growing industry in the United States. In 2019, about 48.2 million Americans used the drug at least once. As such, it is easy to see why the legal cannabis trade may generate annual revenues exceeding $30 billion in Fiscal Year 2022 alone.

One inconvenient truth, however, is that the parties to any cannabis trade may face a range of difficulties due to conflicts between federal and state laws. These difficulties include the fact that many financial institutions are reluctant to handle cannabis proceeds. One reason is that a lack of alignment in terms …

Wireless Investors & Apathy Obsolescence, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Christina M. Sautter

Faculty Works

This Article discusses how a subgenre of retail investors makes investors’ apathy obsolete. In prior work, we dub retail investors who rely on technology and online communications in their investing and corporate governance endeavors “wireless investors.” By applying game theory, this Article discusses how wireless investors’ global-scale online interactions allow them to circulate information and coordinate, obliterating collective action problems.

The Retail Investor Report, Nick Einhorn, Jill E. Fisch, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Monique Le, Christina M. Sautter

Faculty Works

In 2020, a wave of retail investors entered the stock market. In the last two years, approximately 30 million new retail investors opened brokerage accounts in the U.S. By 2021, retail investors comprised 25% of total equities trading volume, nearly double the percentage reported a decade prior.

And they’ve stuck around. In February 2023, retail investors across platforms set a new all-time high for weekly inflows, with $1.5 billion dollars pouring into the market in a single week.

Participation in the public markets remains high; more significantly, it has evolved. Public.com surveyed 2,000+ investors to compile its 2023 report. Public’s …

Broken Infrastructure, Del C. Wright Jr.

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Wireless Investors Movement, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Christina M. Sautter

Faculty Works

The inaugural guest academic article for the University of Chicago Business Law Review Blog discusses how Millennial and GenZ investors can set in motion a social movement with disruptive effects on the current corporate governance paradigm. It refers to Millennial and GenZ investors as “wireless investors” and their social movement as the “Wireless Investors Movement.” The Wireless Investors Movement, fueled by wireless investors’ vision of the world and technology savviness, will bring corporations to pursue social and environmental causes. This short contribution analyzes the characteristics of the Wireless Investors Movement and the effects it will have on corporate governance.

The Challenge Of Optimism And Complexity: Inadequately Addressed By The Fcic's Report, Timothy E. Lynch

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No abstract provided.

Derivatives: A Twenty-First Century Understanding, Timothy E. Lynch

Faculty Works

Derivatives are commonly defined as some variation of the following: a financial instrument whose value is derived from the performance of a secondary source such as an underlying bond, commodity or index. But this definition is both over-inclusive and under-inclusive. Thus, not surprisingly, derivatives are largely misunderstood, including by many policy makers, regulators and legal analysts. It is important for interested parties such as policy makers to understand derivatives, because the types and uses of derivatives have exploded in the last few decades, and because these financial instruments can provide both social benefits and cause social harms. This Article presents …

Deeply Persistently Conflicted: Credit Rating Agencies In The Current Regulatory Environment, Timothy E. Lynch

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Credit rating agencies have a pervasive and potentially devastating influence on the financial well-being of the public. Yet, despite the recent passage of the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act, credit rating agencies enjoy a relative lack of regulatory oversight. One explanation for this lack of oversight has been the appeal of a self-regulating approach to credit rating agencies that claim to rely deeply on their reputational standing within the financial world. There are strong arguments for doubting this approach, including the conflicting self-interest of credit rating agencies whose profits are gained or lost depending on their ability to lure the …

Clients As Teachers, Barbara Glesner Fines

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.