Banking and Finance Law Commons^™

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002: Are Stricter Internal Controls Constricting International Companies?, Jennifer K. Coalson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Japan's Financial Instruments And Exchange Law: Hercules Or Hydra?, Clark T. Wisenbaker

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

A Short History Of Postal Banking, Mehrsa Baradaran

Popular Media

Every other developed country in the world has postal banking, and we actually did too. It is important to remember this forgotten history as we begin to talk seriously about reviving postal banking because the system worked and it worked well. Postal banking, which existed in the United States from 1911 to 1966, was in fact so central to our banking system that it was almost the alternative to federal deposit insurance, and served as such from 1911 until 1933. The system prevented many bank runs during a turbulent time in the nation’s banking history—essentially performing central banking functions before …

The Post Office Banks On The Poor, Mehrsa Baradaran

Popular Media

Approximately 88 million people in the United States, or 28 percent of the population, have no bank account at all, or do have a bank account, but primarily rely on check-cashing storefronts, payday lenders, title lenders, or even pawnshops to meet their financial needs. And these lenders charge much more for their services than traditional banks. The average annual income for an “unbanked” family is $25,500, and about 10 percent of that income, or $2,412, goes to fees and interest for gaining access to credit or other financial services. But a possible solution has appeared, in the unlikely guise of …

Corporate Governance Theory And Review Of Board Decisions, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

It’S Time For Postal Banking, Mehrsa Baradaran

Scholarly Works

This essay makes the case that the USPS is in a unique position to provide much-needed financial services for the large population of unbanked or underbanked Americans. First, the post office can offer credit at lower rates than fringe lenders by taking advantage of economies of scale as well as their position in the federal bureaucracy. Second, they already have branches in many low-income neighborhoods that have been long deserted by commercial banks. And, third, people at every level of society, including the unbanked, have a level of familiarity and comfort with the post office that they do not have …

Banking And The Social Contract, Mehrsa Baradaran

Scholarly Works

This article asserts that there exists today and has always existed an interdependent relationship between banks and the state. I refer to this connection and its mutual benefits and responsibilities as a social contract. When Alexander Hamilton responded to President Washington’s inquiry about the advisability of a national bank, he wrote that “such a Bank is not a mere matter of private property, but a political machine of the greatest importance to the State.” This social contract has existed since the inception of banking in the United States and has been reinforced over time, but it has recently become weakened …

Conceptions Of Corporate Purpose In Post-Crisis Financial Firms, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

American "populism" has had a major impact on the development of U.S. corporate governance throughout its history. Specifically, appeals to the perceived interests of average working people have exerted enormous social and political influence over prevailing conceptions of corporate purpose - the aims toward which society expects corporate decision-making to be directed. This article assesses the impact of American populism upon prevailing conceptions of corporate purpose - contrasting its unique expression in the context of financial firms with that arising in other contexts - and then examines its impact upon corporategovernance reforms enacted in the wake of the financial and …

How The Poor Got Cut Out Of Banking, Mehrsa Baradaran

Scholarly Works

The United States currently has two banking systems — one for the rich, one for the poor. It wasn’t always this way. Throughout U.S. history, the government has enlisted certain banking institutions to serve the needs of the poor and offer low cost credit to enable low-income Americans to escape poverty. Credit unions, savings and loans and Morris Banks are three prominent examples of government-supported institutions with a specific focus of helping the poor. Unfortunately, these institutions are no longer fulfilling their missions and high-cost, usurious, and sometimes predatory check-cashers and payday lenders have quickly filled the void. These fringe …

Reconsidering The Separation Of Banking And Commerce, Mehrsa Baradaran

Scholarly Works

This Article examines the long-held belief that banking and commerce need to be kept separate to ensure a stable banking system. Specifically, the Article criticizes the Bank Holding Company Act (“BHCA”), which prohibits nonbanking entities from owning banks. The recent banking collapse has caused and exacerbated several problematic trends in U.S. banking, especially the conglomeration of banking entities and the homogenization of assets. The inflexible and outdated provisions of the BHCA are a major cause of these trends. Since the enactment of the BHCA, the landscape of U.S. banking has changed dramatically, but the strict separation of banking and commerce …

Complex Financial Institutions And Systemic Risk, Utset A. Utset

Georgia Law Review

Modern financial institutions are large, complex, and
highly interconnected. In the wake of the financial crisis
of 2007-2009, commentators and policymakers have given
considerable attention to large institutions, particularly
those that can become "too-big-to-fail." This Article takes

a novel approach to this general problem. It begins by
asking a foundational question: given the extraordinary
volume of transactions between large, complex
institutions, what mechanisms do they use to protect
themselves from the risks created by their complexity, and
how do those mechanisms affect the stability of the
financial system? To keep the problem manageable, the
Article focuses on one type of …

Managing Corporate Federalism: The Least-Bad Approach To The Shareholder Bylaw Debate, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

Over recent decades, shareholders in public corporations have increasingly sought to augment their own power - and, correlatively, to limit the power of boards - through creative use of corporate bylaws. The bylaws lend themselves to such efforts because enacting, amending, and repealing bylaws are essentially the only corporate governance actions that shareholders can undertake unilaterally. In this Article I examine thecontested nature of bylaws, the fundamental issues of corporate power and purpose that they implicate, and the differing ways in which state and federal lawmakers and regulators may impact the debate regarding thescope of the shareholders' bylaw authority.

The …

Corporate Governance Reform In A Time Of Crisis, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

In this article I argue that crisis-driven corporate governance reform efforts in the United States and the United Kingdom that aim to empower shareholders are misguided, and offer an explanation of why policymakers in each country have reacted to the financial crisis as they have. I first discuss the risk incentives of shareholders and managers in financial firms, and examine how excessive leverage and risk-taking in pursuit of short-term returns for shareholders led to the crisis. I then describe the far greater power and centrality that U.K. shareholders have historically possessed relative to their U.S. counterparts, and explore historical and …

Placebo Ethics, Usha Rodrigues, Mike Stegemoller

Scholarly Works

While there are innumerable theories on the best remedy for the current financial crisis, there is agreement on one point, at least: increased transparency is good. We look at a provision from the last round of financial regulation, the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), which imposed disclosure requirements tailored to prevent some of the kinds of abuses that led to the downfall of Enron. In response to Enron's self-dealing transactions, Section 406 of SOX required a public company to disclose its code of ethics and to disclose immediately any waivers from that code the company grants to its top …

The Changing Face Of Money, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

In this essay I argue that widespread failure to comprehend the intrinsic nature of modern money loomed large in the recent crisis, and that broader comprehension of its meaning is a precondition for effective post-crisis reforms. First, I provide a brief history of money, emphasizing its gradual divergence from inherent value. I then consider the value of today’s dollar in economic, legal and psychological terms, arguing that each perspective conveys a single over-arching lesson—that better comprehending our money requires better comprehending ourselves. The introspection that this exercise demands reveals with unique clarity some of the critical lessons of the crisis …

The Ilc And The Reconstruction Of U.S. Banking, Mehrsa Baradaran

Scholarly Works

Since the Great Depression, bank regulators in the United States have endeavored to separate banking institutions from commercial firms, believing such separation was necessary for stability and growth. The recent collapse of our financial system indicates that this premise may be false, as Industrial Loan Companies ("ILCs") – the only institutions where commercial firms are permitted to own banks – remain sound. ILCs have persisted throughout U.S. banking history through exceptions and omissions in banking legislation, but the strength and resilience they have exhibited in the current financial collapse are worth investigating and even emulating. This article examines recent controversy …

The Enduring Ambivalence Of Corporate Law, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

Prevailing theories of corporate law tend to rely heavily on strong claims regarding the corporate governance primacy and legitimacy of either the board or the shareholders, as the case may be. In this article I challenge the descriptive power of these theories as applied to widely held public corporations and advance an alternative, arguing that corporate law is, and will remain, deeply ambivalent - both doctrinally and morally - with respect to three fundamental and related issues: the locus of ultimate corporate governance authority, the intended beneficiaries of corporate production, and the relationship between corporate law and theachievement of the …

States, Markets, And Gatekeepers: Public-Private Regulatory Regimes In An Era Of Economic Globalization, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

This paper illuminates the spectrum of international economic regimes through discussion of an under-theorized regulatory structure in which traditional distinctions between state and market, public and private power, hard and soft law, and international and domestic policy realms, essentially collapse - the public-private gatekeeper.

Specifically, I examine striking similarities between global bond markets and e-commerce markets through comparison of entities regulating admission to them - the dominant credit rating agencies (Standard & Poor's and Moody's), and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Following anexamination of the development of these markets and the global regulatory power exercised by …

The Federal Government's Implied Guarantee Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac's Obligations: Uncle Sam Will Pick Up The Tab, David Reiss

Georgia Law Review

This Article provides the most comprehensive statutory analysis to date of the federal government's implied guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's financial obligations. Fannie and Freddie together have $4.45 trillion in mortgage- related obligations. The magnitude of their obligations can only be understood in comparison to the amount of outstanding U.S. government debt-$5.04 trillion. Given the ongoing meltdown of the residential mortgage market, it is important that the implied guarantee be understood for what it is, a contingent liability of the federal government. After explaining the nature of the implied guarantee and the risks that it poses, the Article …

Charities, Endowments, And Donor Intent: The Uniform Prudent Management Of Institutional Funds Act, Susan N. Gary

Georgia Law Review

American charities manage substantial funds in conjunction with carrying out their charitable purposes, holding some funds for current operating needs and others as endowments. The legal rules on managing and investing those funds have worked well, but are now somewhat out of date, and revisions to these rules will benefit donors, charities, and charitable beneficiaries. Because laws regulating charities come from a variety of sources, including trust law, nonprofit corporation statutes, federal tax laws, and additional state statutes, this Article does not address the full panoply of regulations governing charities. Rather, the Article takes a narrow focus: the investment, management, …

Collateralizing Intellectual Property, Xuan-Thao Nguyen

Georgia Law Review

This Article argues that the process of collateralization of intellectual property lacks transparency.Consequently, the current Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code may unfairly advance secured creditor's rights at the expense of intellectual property creators-such as authors and inventors-who are the debtors, and ultimately at the expense of society as a whole. The hidden costs of using intellectual property rights as collateral in secured transactions may prevent intellectual property creators from creating future works based on their early creations. This Article identifies and critiques the collateralization of intellectual property,revealing the complexity of intersecting secured transaction law, namely Article 9 of …

Revising The Model Nonprofit Corporation Act: Plus Qa Change, Plus C'Est La M~Me Chose, Lizabeth A. Moody

Georgia Law Review

The proposed revision of the 1988 version of the Model Nonprofit Corporation Act (MNCA) leaves most of the 1988 revisions in place. Overall the changes will bring the Act closer to the Model Business Corporation Act which was the stated intention of the 1988 revision. The major changes which are being proposed include: dropping the classification scheme which divided nonprofit corporations into Public Benefit, Mutual Benefit and Religious corporations;deleting certain provisions with respect to the role of the attorney general; prohibiting cumulative voting; including provisions of the Model Entity Transactions Act (META); and providing for Select Exempt Corporations.

Good Faith, State Of Mind, And The Outer Boundaries Of Director Liability In Corporate Law, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

The Delaware General Corporation Law was amended in 1986 to permit shareholder-approved exculpatory charter provisions shielding corporate directors from monetary liability for certain fiduciary duty breaches not including (among other things) breaches of the duty of loyalty and acts not in good faith. This article examines the development of corporate fiduciary duty doctrine in Delaware leading up to and following this statutory amendment, focusing particularly on the Delaware courts' evolving conception of the meaning anddoctrinal status of the good faith concept employed in recent cases to permit a non-exculpable cause ofaction for conscious nonfeasance.

The article argues that Delaware's good …

To Judge Leviathan: Sovereign Credit Ratings, National Law, And The World Economy, Christopher Bruner, Rawi Abdelal

Scholarly Works

Recent decades have witnessed the remarkable rise of a kind of market authority almost as centralized as the state itself – two credit rating agencies, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. These agencies derive their influence from two sources. The first is the information content of their ratings. The second is both more profound and vastly more problematic: Ratings are incorporated into financial regulations in the United States and around the world. In this article we clarify the role of credit rating agencies in global capital markets, describe the host of problems that arise when their ratings are given the force …

Laws Governing Bank Securities Activities In The United States, Hanning Zhang

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis analyzes the previous regulatory approach to bank investment activities in the United States and its effects on the banking industry, discusses regulatory changes that expanded banking powers, reviews the new legislation and potential problems in the current movement of financial reform, and suggests some solutions. Chapter II reviews previous statutory regimes on bank securities activities, including those separating traditional and investment banking under the Glass-Steagall Act and Bank Holding Company Act. The regulatory regime under the E.U. banking system is addressed to give an example of successful deregulation, by which universal banks may fully enjoy the rapid changing …

The Legal Regulation Of Hedge Funds In The United States Long-Term Capital Management Episode, Jong Cheol Park

LLM Theses and Essays

Mutual funds and hedge funds are popular forms of investment in the United States and throughout the world. Mutual funds are regulated by securities' regulators in the United States. Hedge funds, however, are not regulated because of their operational flexibility in investment. U.S. regulators are concerned that if they regulate hedge funds, hedge funds will, along with their economic benefits, emigrate to offshore havens. However, if we consider the importance of the American financial markets in the world, this idea can be dismissed. Due to globalization in the capital markets, small events in the United States can have large effects …

The Use Of Intellectual Property As Collateral: Gap In The Perfection Of A Security Interest, Sofia Benammar

LLM Theses and Essays

The purpose of the present thesis is to let French lawyers know which step they need to take in order to best assist their client in securing a more solid investment. Lenders want to be protected. Lenders want to be sure that they can use the intellectual property rights in a commercial environment free from superior claims by third parties. In other words, a lender who provides a large loan to a borrower wants to know how and where its security interest will be perfected and what is the best way for him to have priority over other claims. This …

Derivatives And Risk Framework, Ravichandra Vasant Kini

LLM Theses and Essays

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the dynamics of the fast-growing international financial markets and to study in particular the risks associated with the different kinds of financial instruments. The Barrings Bank Crisis, Proctor and Gamble, Gibson Greetings cases against Bankers Trust, and the Orange County Bankruptcy has prompted regulatory authorities to focus on the risks involved in the derivatives markets. In this paper, the first chapter explains the basic working of the different kinds of derivative instruments especially concentrating on Swaps, Futures, and Options. The second chapter goes on to explain, the risks involved in the uses …

Poison And Dead Hand Pills, Markets For Corporate Control, And Implications For An Emerging Market Like China, Shueiqing Zhou

LLM Theses and Essays

In the past twenty years, the Chinese government has been adopting open door and economic reform policies. Because of historical, economic, legal, and cultural traditions, a modern corporation system is far from being established in China. There are lots of things that need to do to establish a perfect corporate system. This thesis reviews diverse interpretations of the function of poison pills in light of recent judicial decisions and underlying empirical evidence. It also reviews recent judicial decisions regarding the new version of poison and dead hand pill. The author discusses the recent trend of by-law restrictions in an attempt …

Debt Instruments' Tax Treatment In Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions, Tae Oon Jang

LLM Theses and Essays

The increase of merger and acquisition(M&A) activity since 1992 has resulted mainly from a domestic economic recovery. The current M&A trend shows that M&A is still an important means of enhancing many corporations' competitive power and of stimulating growth in such areas as computer software and services, wholesale and distribution, miscellaneous services, banking and finance, and leisure and entertainment. Fundraising for mezzanine-fund financing, which reflects investors' foresight about current and future M&A trends, has also seen rapid growth. After the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the repeal of the General Utilities doctrine, the elimination of the capital gain preference …