Law Commons^™

18th Annual Conference On Legal Issues For Financial Institutions, Debra K. Stamper, Arthur L. Freeman, Phillip H. Schwartz, Martha Andes Ziskind, Jessica R. Schumacher, Grace M. Giesel, John T. Mcgarvey, Holli Hart Targan, Lea Pauley Goff, Julie Mix Mcpeak, David L. Beckman, M. Thurman Senn, Thomas J. Luber, Walter R. Byrne, Caryn F. Price, R. James Straus

Grace M. Giesel

Materials from the 18th Annual Conference on Legal Issues for Financial Institutions held by UK/CLE in 1998.

Consumer Bitcredit And Fintech Lending, Christopher K. Odinet

Christopher K. Odinet

The Order To Pay Money In Medieval Continental Europe, Benjamin Geva

Benjamin Geva

This chapter discusses the evolution of non-cash payment mechanisms in the course of the development of the medieval banking system in Europe. The chapter sets out three categories of a medieval continental financier. The first category, pawnbrokers, consisted of lenders who lent out of their capital primarily for consumption who played no role in the development of the payment system. The second category consisted of moneychangers who accepted deposits and whose practices were rooted in in the manual exchange of coins. The third category consisted of exchange bankers whose practices emerged from the exchange of money in long distance trade. …

Foiled By The Banks? How A Lender's Decision May Support Or Undermine A Jurisdiction's Environmental Policies That Promote Green Buildings, Darren Prum

Darren A. Prum

In a report from the United Nations Environmental Program that addressed climate change, the authors point out that the built environment in both emerging and developed countries accounts for more than forty percent of the global energy usage while also emitting at least one third of the world’s greenhouse gasses. They further assert that the built environment offers an unsurpassed opportunity to supply cost effective, lasting, and meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In response to such a call to action, many state and local governments turned to a variety of policies to ensure that the real estate developments within …

Tmi About Pmi: A Basic Guide To Private Mortgage Insurance, Marie Sarantakis

Marie Sarantakis

Purchasing a home for the first time can be an intimidating and overwhelming experience for the average consumer. In an economic downturn, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a commonly utilized mechanism that affords homebuyers the ability to purchase a residence with a minimal down payment while insulating the lender as the beneficiary of the policy. PMI is an often dreaded and misunderstood expense. This basic guide provides a rudimentary understanding of PMI for a real estate novice.

Dirty Debts Sold Dirt Cheap, Dalie Jimenez

Dalie Jimenez

More than 77 million Americans have a debt in collections. Many of these debts will be sold to debt buyers for pennies, or fractions of pennies, on the dollar. This Article details the perilous path that debts travel as they move through the collection ecosystem. Using a unique dataset of 84 consumer debt purchase and sale agreement, it examines the manner in which debts are sold, oftentimes as simple data on a spreadsheet, devoid of any documentary evidence. It finds that in many contracts, sellers disclaim all warranties about the underlying debts sold or the information transferred. Sellers also sometimes …

Theories And Practices Of Islamic Finance And Exchange Laws: Poverty Of Interest, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Against Regulatory Displacement: An Institutional Analysis Of Financial Crises, Jonathan C. Lipson

Jonathan C. Lipson

This paper uses “institutional analysis”—the study of the relative capacities of markets, courts, and regulators—to make three claims about financial crises.

First, financial crises are increasingly a problem of “regulatory displacement.” Through the ad hoc rescues of 2008 and the Dodd-Frank reforms of 2010, regulators displace market and judicial processes that ordinarily prevent financial distress from becoming financial crises. Because regulators are vulnerable to capture by large financial services firms, however, they cannot address the pathologies that create crises: market concentration and complexity. Indeed, regulators may inadvertently aggravate these conditions through resolution tactics that consolidate firms, and the volume and …

Dodd-Frank’S Risk Retention Requirement: The Incentive Problem, Amy L. Mcintire

Amy L. McIntire

On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law (Dodd-Frank). Promulgated by Congress to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, the bill represented an almost complete overhaul of the entire financial regulation system. Specifically, a provision in the bill mandated that securitizers “retain not less than five percent of the credit risk for any asset,” and this requirement became known as the “risk retention requirement.” Legislators hoped that, by forcing securitizers to hold onto a percentage of the risk …

A Preliminary Look At State Structures For Regulating Financial Services, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

Within the past thirty-five years approximately fifty nations have consolidated their financial regulatory agencies into either a single integrated agency or into two semi-integrated agencies. The United States has resisted this trend, due in part to a concern that the costs of such significant consolidation would exceed its benefits. The existing studies that compare the costs of the consolidated regulators around the world with the United States regime have often been discounted because they have been unable to control for differences in culture and regulatory intensity between those other countries and the United States. This article attempts to address this …

Assessing Risk, Liability And Asset Management Investments Among U.S. And Foreign Banks: Bank Of America, Wells Fargo, And Wachovia, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.

Valencia T Johnson

In recent years, banks have had a positive and negative impact on assessing risk, liability and asset management from other competitors such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Wachovia. There have been many recent discussions about the U.S. and International banking management and investments. The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Exchange Commission are finding ways to evaluate the negative and positive behaviors exhibited by other financial institutions, which has an impact on the global economy, and in regards to financial management and investments. This article explains the important of assessing the risk and compliance management in financial banking and …

International Money Laundering: The Need For Icc Investigative And Adjudicative Jurisdiction, Michael R. Anderson

Michael Anderson

Money laundering is one of the most pressing issues in the realm of international financial crimes. One of the biggest issues involved in international money laundering is the problem of adjudication. There is no international organization that currently hears these sorts of claims, forcing nations to adjudicate these crimes on their own, often without adequate resources to effectively investigate and enforce their money laundering statutes.

This article argues that, in order to more effectively prevent and adjudicate international money laundering offenses, the International Criminal Court should adopt an international money laundering statute designating these activities as a crime within the …

Improving Fraudulent Transfer Law In Leverage Buy-Outs Through Judicial Certainty & Reliability, Vincent V. Hilldrup

Vincent V. Hilldrup

LBOs that file for bankruptcy are routinely challenged under fraudulent transfer law, where plaintiffs allege that the LBO unreasonably reduced the target’s liquidity and capital adequacy, saddled it with debt and was completed as a means of funneling company assets to both current and former shareholders. These cases will bestow upon bankruptcy courts the responsibility and power of efficiently allocating billions of dollars to classes of creditors and clawing back funds from shareholders. Since these cases will have a crucial impact on the overall economy, it is imperative that bankruptcy courts wield their authority and power in a predictable, fair, …

Defining Our Terms Carefully And In Context: Thoughts On Reading (And In One Case, Rereading) Three Books, Cynthia C. Lichtenstein

Cynthia C. Lichtenstein

In preparing to write this paper, I read again Walter Bagehot’s Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market , Perry Mehrling’s The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort and John Authers’ The Fearful Rise of Markets: Global Bubbles, Synchronized Meltdowns, and How to Prevent Them in the Future. . Bagehot, of course, was the Governor of the Bank of England when he wrote what Mehrling calls his “magisterial” treatise in 1873 on how a central bank must react to a financial crisis. Mehrling is an economist and an economic historian. Authers is a …

Implementing Dodd-Frank: A Review Of The Cftc‟S Rulemaking Process: Testimony, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

The Relationship of Unregulated OTC Derivatives to the Meltdown. It is now accepted wisdom that it was the non-transparent, poorly capitalized, and almost wholly unregulated over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives market that lit the fuse that exploded the highly vulnerable worldwide economy in the fall of 2008. Because tens of trillions of dollars of these financial products were pegged to the economic performance of an overheated and highly inflated housing market, the sudden collapse of that market triggered under-capitalized or non-capitalized OTC derivative guarantees of the subprime housing investments. Moreover, the many undercapitalized insurers of that collapsing market had other multi-trillion dollar …

Deposit Accounts Under The New World Order, Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger, David Line Batty, Richard K. Brown

Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger

The new world is upon us. Repent. Revised Article 9 is the law in every state. Commercial deposit accounts are now available as original collateral. Bringing commercial deposit accounts into the Article 9 fold significantly complicates the planning of an Article 9 secured transaction. Attorneys for banks, non-bank creditors and debtors need to understand the new world order and the risks it poses to their clients. They need to develop strategies to minimize those risks so as to protect their clients' positions. Part II of this article describes the new legal framework and some of the risks it creates. Part …

Unification Of Payments Law And The Problem Of Insolvency Risk In Payment Systems, James S. Rogers

James S. Rogers

No abstract provided.

U.S. Appellate Court Ruling Deals Fatal Blow To Argentina Brady Bond Debt Swap, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of Title Vii Of The Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act. Hearing Before The United States Senate, Committee On Agriculture, Nutrition And Forestry - 112th Cong., 1st Sess., Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

The Relationship of Unregulated OTC Derivatives to the Meltdown. It is now accepted wisdom that it was the non-transparent, poorly capitalized, and almost wholly unregulated over-the-counter (―OTC‖) derivatives market that lit the fuse that exploded the highly vulnerable worldwide economy in the fall of 2008. Because tens of trillions of dollars of these financial products were pegged to the economic performance of an overheated and highly inflated housing market, the sudden collapse of that market triggered under-capitalized or non-capitalized OTC derivative guarantees of the subprime housing investments. Moreover, the many undercapitalized insurers of that collapsing market had other multi-trillion dollar …

Testimony Before The U.S. House Of Representatives, Committee On Agriculture - “Potential Excessive Speculation In Commodity Markets: The Impact Of Proposed Legislation", Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture. 110th Congress, 2nd Session (July 10-11, 2008).

Testimony Before The U.S. House Of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee On Agriculture, Rural Development. Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies, Regarding The “Commodity Futures Trading Commission”, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development. Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies on the role of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s regulatory efforts Pertaining to excessive speculation within U.S. energy futures markets in general, and futures based on U.S. delivered crude oil contracts.

Both Giving And Taking: Should Misuse Of Atms And Electronic Payment Systems Be Theft, Fraud Or Neither?, Alex Steel

Alex Steel

Although transactions via automatic teller machines and other computerised cash payment systems are now very widespread the criminal law relating to their misuse remains confused. Unauthorised withdrawals can be prosecuted as both theft and fraud. By contrast, similar behaviour involving interactions with human tellers is generally not criminal. The result is a deeply flawed and contradictory legal landscape. This article provides an analysis and critique of the case law and legislation that has led to this result and proposes an alternative statutory offence that better reflects the commercial and consumer realities of electronic transactions.

The Role Of Derivatives In The Financial Crisis – Testimony Before The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, June 30, 2010, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

It is now almost universally accepted that the unregulated multi-trillion dollar OTC CDS market helped foment a mortgage crisis, then a credit crisis, and finally a ―once-in-a-century systemic financial crisis that, but for huge U.S. taxpayer interventions, would have in the fall of 2008 led the world economy into a devastating Depression. Before explaining below the manner in which credit default swaps fomented this crisis, it worth citing in the margin those many economists, regulators, market observers, and financial columnists who have described the central role unregulated CDS played in the crisis. Even those once skeptical of arguments about the …

• The Credit Crisis And Subprime Litigation: How Fraud Without Motive ‘Makes Little Economic Sense’, Peter Hamner

Peter Hamner

The recent collapse of the financial markets spurred numerous lawsuits seeking a faulty party. Many plaintiffs argue that market participants committed securities fraud. They claim that deficient subprime loans caused the financial crisis. These risky loans were allegedly originated by banks to be sold off to third parties. The subprime loans were securitized and spread throughout the financial markets. The risk these loans presented was allegedly not disclosed to the buyers of the loans and securities on the loans. As these deficient loans and securities began to default the financial markets came to a halt. This article argues that securities …

Where Do We Come From? Innovation And Regulatory Response In The Banking Industry Before The Crisis, Bruno Meyerhof Salama

Bruno Meyerhof Salama

Free Falling With A Parachute That May Not Open: Debtor-In-Possession Financing In The Wake Of The Great Recession, Jarrod B. Martin, Kristofor Nelson, Eric Rudenberg, Jonathan Squires

Jarrod B Martin

Debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing is one of the most important building blocks of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The recent economic downturn, however, has frozen the DIP financing market. Absent the financing necessary to reorganize, many companies will be forced to liquidate. Who will fill the void in DIP financing as banks exit the market? This note seeks to explore alternative options—local banks, the government, and private equity or hedge funds—that may fill the vacuum left by the banks, and the risks and rewards associated with DIP financing. As these alternate institutions go forward, the landscape of DIP financing may forever …

The Tyranny Of The Multitude Is A Multiplied Tyranny: Is The United States Financial Regulatory Structure Undermining U.S. Competitiveness?, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

This Article examines whether the U.S. regulatory structure undermined U.S. competitiveness with foreign financial markets, particularly the United Kingdom's markets.

E Pluribus Unum -- Out Of Many, One: Why The United States Needs A Single Financial Services Agency, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

The United States needs to consolidate the over 115 existing state and federal agencies that regulate banking, securities and insurance firms and their products and services into a single, federal financial services agency; a U.S. Financial Services Agency (“US FSA”). The US FSA would be able to more effectively regulate the U.S. financial services industry than the existing regulatory regime. The current U.S. financial regulatory regime suffers from a range of problems, including an inability to anticipate and plan for future financial crises, an inability by regulators to quickly adapt to market innovations and developments, inconsistent regulations for financial products …