Should The "Undue Hardship" Standard For Discharging Student Or Educational Loans Be Expanded?,
2013
Barry University School of Law
Should The "Undue Hardship" Standard For Discharging Student Or Educational Loans Be Expanded?, Kevin J. Smith
Barry Law Review
No abstract provided.
Bretton Woods 1.0: A Constructive Retrieval For Sustainable Finance,
2013
Cornell Law School
Bretton Woods 1.0: A Constructive Retrieval For Sustainable Finance, Robert C. Hockett
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Global trade imbalance and domestic financial fragility are intimately related. When a nation runs persistently massive current account deficits to maintain global liquidity as has the United States now for decades, its central bank effectively relinquishes exchange rate flexibility to become a de facto central bank to the world. That in turn prevents the bank from playing its essential credit-modulatory role at home, at least absent strict capital controls that are difficult to administer and have long been taboo. And this can in turn render credit-fueled asset price bubbles and busts all but impossible to prevent, irrespective of the nation's …
Paying Paul And Robbing No One: An Eminent Domain Solution For Underwater Mortgage Debt,
2013
Cornell Law School
Paying Paul And Robbing No One: An Eminent Domain Solution For Underwater Mortgage Debt, Robert C. Hockett
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
In the view of many analysts, the best way to assist “underwater” homeowners — those who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth — is to reduce the principal on their home loans. Yet in the case of privately securitized mortgages, such write-downs are almost impossible to carry out, since loan modifications on the scale necessitated by the housing market crash would require collective action by a multitude of geographically dispersed security holders. The solution, this study suggests, is for state and municipal governments to use their eminent domain powers to buy up and restructure underwater mortgages, …
Improving Retirement Savings Options For Employees,
2013
University of Connecticut School of Law
Improving Retirement Savings Options For Employees, James Kwak
Faculty Articles and Papers
Americans do not save enough for retirement. One reason is that our retirement savings accounts — whether employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts — are heavily invested in actively managed mutual funds that siphon off tens of billions of dollars in fees every year yet deliver returns that trail the overall market. Under existing law, as interpreted by the courts, mutual funds may charge high fees to investors, and companies may offer expensive, active funds to their employees. This paper argues that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act should be reinterpreted, in light of basic …
The Role Of Uncitral Texts In Promoting A Harmonized Legal Framework For Cross-Border Mobile Payments,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
The Role Of Uncitral Texts In Promoting A Harmonized Legal Framework For Cross-Border Mobile Payments, Luca G. Castellani
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The establishment of a regulatory environment is a condition necessary, but not sufficient, for setting up a legal environment supportive of mobile payment and banking services. Equally important is the creation of an enabling legislative environment on the legal status of electronic communications and on other relevant rules such as those on payments. In fact, existing legal frameworks, be they of statutory or contractual origin, are often insufficient to address all legal issues, especially in developing countries. Therefore, guidance in the form of international standards, such as those prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), is …
Mobile Payments In The United States: How Disintermediation May Affect Delivery Of Payment Functions, Financial Inclusion And Anti-Money Laundering Issues,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
Mobile Payments In The United States: How Disintermediation May Affect Delivery Of Payment Functions, Financial Inclusion And Anti-Money Laundering Issues, Erin F. Fonté
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Mobile banking and mobile payments in the United States have evolved differently than in other developed and developing countries. The current fervor for mobile payments in the United States is more about chasing affluence and advertising than creating access for the unbanked and underbanked. However, those individuals may eventually gain access to a broader range of financial services at lower costs depending on how the mobile payments ecosystem evolves in the United States. U.S. regulators have made it clear that existing financial services regulations apply to mobile banking and mobile payments, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is poised …
Ask The Professor: How Will The Seventh Circuit Rule In Sentinel Ii?,
2013
New York Law School
Ask The Professor: How Will The Seventh Circuit Rule In Sentinel Ii?, Ronald H. Filler
Articles & Chapters
No abstract provided.
Hedge Fund Governance,
2013
New York Law School
Hedge Fund Governance, Houman B. Shadab
Articles & Chapters
This Article provides the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the internal governance of hedge funds. Hedge fund governance consists of the funds' underlying legal regime and the practices they adopt in response to lacking permanent capital and to reduce agency costs. Hedge fund governance is important because better governance can improve investor returns and help managers raise and retain capital. I argue that hedge fund governance is best understood as a type of responsive managerialism. It is a type of managerialism because applicable law and contracting structures give managers uniquely wide-ranging control over the fund and its operations. Hedge fund …
The 2012 Revised Fatf Recommendations: Assessing And Mitigating Mobile Money Integrity Risks Within The New Standards Framework,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
The 2012 Revised Fatf Recommendations: Assessing And Mitigating Mobile Money Integrity Risks Within The New Standards Framework, Louis De Koker
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Mobile money holds great financial inclusion promise, but also poses financial integrity challenges. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the intergovernmental global anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) standard-setting body—expressed support for financial inclusion and mobile money as a means to decrease the use of non-transparent cash in many developing countries. In February 2012, FATF adopted a new revised set of standards. This Article considers the impact of these new standards on mobile money models in developing countries. It highlights aspects of the new standards that would facilitate innovative mobile money models, but also points to questions and challenges. The …
Governance Of Global Mobile Money Networks: The Role Of Technical Standards,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
Governance Of Global Mobile Money Networks: The Role Of Technical Standards, Jane K. Winn
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Mobile money has the potential to be an effective policy instrument for financial inclusion in developing countries, but it also has the potential to fuel money laundering and terrorist financing. The 2012 revised Financial Action Task Force standards attempt to strike a workable balance between the goals of financial inclusion and financial integrity in developing countries. Mobile money schemes are mostly based in national markets, however, and are not normally designed to address the need of poor migrants for cheap, effective cross-border remittance services. Demand for such cross-border remittance services may drive the development of technical standards to build global …
Privacy And Security Concerns Associated With Mobile Money Applications In Africa,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
Privacy And Security Concerns Associated With Mobile Money Applications In Africa, Andrew Harris, Seymour Goodman, Patrick Traynor
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The rapid adoption of mobile money use in Africa raises concerns regarding the privacy and security of users, particularly in light of Financial Action Task Force recommendations requiring user transparency and the collection of transaction data. The transparency required of the now-financially-included—particularly in nations with weak adherence to the rule of law and limited privacy protections—leaves users vulnerable to abuse. Further, the increasing complexity of mobile phone use that is indicative of mobile money applications raises concerns regarding Africa’s preparedness for heightened security threats that come hand in hand with increased use. To address these problems, the authors of this …
Mobile Money As An Engine Of Financial Inclusion And Lynchpin Of Financial Integrity,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
Mobile Money As An Engine Of Financial Inclusion And Lynchpin Of Financial Integrity, Claire Alexandre, Lynn Chang Eisenhart
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Few people would dispute that mobile money can be an engine of financial inclusion and has the potential to reach millions of customers, including those at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid. Fewer though would characterize mobile money as the lynchpin of financial integrity. But financial inclusion and financial integrity have at least three tangential points to mobile money: (1) mobile money will help reduce dependency on cash, which is the common enemy of both financial inclusion and financial integrity, (2) mobile money generates data which is instrumental to the health and growth of both financial inclusion and financial integrity, …
The Role Of Anti-Money Laundering Law In Mobile Money Systems In Developing Countries,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
The Role Of Anti-Money Laundering Law In Mobile Money Systems In Developing Countries, Emery S. Kobor
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
This Article explains that the application of anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, supervision, and enforcement is relevant to financial inclusion, but is not, in itself, necessarily determinative of the success or failure of financial inclusion initiatives or their impact on economic growth. Successful payments system innovation, particularly payment tools targeting underserved markets, requires effective entrepreneurship operating in an environment of good governance and rational economic policies. AML safeguards help to deter corruption and other forms of financial crime, which helps to establish and maintain economic stability and preserve the rule of law, creating a supportive environment for innovation and financial inclusion. …
M-Payments In Brazil: Notes On How A Country's Background May Determine Timing And Design Of A Regulatory Model,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
M-Payments In Brazil: Notes On How A Country's Background May Determine Timing And Design Of A Regulatory Model, Gilberto Martins De Almeida
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Extended periods of high-inflation in Brazil have resulted in a sophisticated platform for payment methods and a vast network of banking correspondents all over the country. Social policies have encouraged increased access to telecommunications, with the number of mobile phones exceeding the nearly 200 million inhabitants. Governmental programs intend to combine such strengths to achieve massive financial inclusion and integrity, an effort that is expected to reach dozens of millions of new beneficiaries. In that endeavor, authorities wish to foster rapid popularization of mobile payments (m-payments) while keeping sound financial controls. Availability of current technological and legal platforms has allowed …
Safaricom And M-Pesa In Kenya: Financial Inclusion And Financial Integrity,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
Safaricom And M-Pesa In Kenya: Financial Inclusion And Financial Integrity, Mercy W. Buku, Michael W. Meredith
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The recent and widespread availability of affordable mobile phone technology in developing countries has paved the way for the development of a number of mobile money and electronic remittance services. One of the most successful of these services is Safaricom’s M-PESA program, launched in the East African nation of Kenya in March 2007. Since then, the program has successfully enrolled 15.2 million users, transferred more than US$1.4 trillion in electronic funds, and contributed significantly to poverty alleviation and financial inclusion efforts in rural Kenya. This Article seeks to trace the development of M-PESA in Kenya, provide a snapshot of the …
The Reporting Of Suspicious Activity By Mobile Money Service Providers In Accordance With International Standards: How Does It Impact On Financial Inclusion?,
2013
University of Washington School of Law
The Reporting Of Suspicious Activity By Mobile Money Service Providers In Accordance With International Standards: How Does It Impact On Financial Inclusion?, Miriam Goldby
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Among the obligations which countries are required to impose upon their financial institutions under the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) 40 Recommendations is the obligation to report suspicions of money laundering. This Article discusses the impact that a reporting regime such as that set up in the United Kingdom in response to FATF requirements is likely to have should it be set up in developing countries seeking to regulate mobile money services. This Article argues that certain features of the U.K. suspicious activity reporting regime make it unsuitable for wholesale adoption into such a context. A one-size-fits-all approach by the …
The Emperor's New Loans: A Cautionary Tale From The Subprime Era,
2013
Brooklyn Law School
The Emperor's New Loans: A Cautionary Tale From The Subprime Era, David J. Reiss
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Dirt Lawyers And Dirty Remics: A Debate,
2013
Brooklyn Law School
Dirt Lawyers And Dirty Remics: A Debate, David J. Reiss, Bradley T. Borden, Joshua Stein
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Trouble With Regulating Microfinance,
2013
Brooklyn Law School
Trouble With Regulating Microfinance, Anita Bernstein
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
The Wonder-Clause,
2013
Duke Law School
The Wonder-Clause, Anna Gelpern, Mitu Gulati
Faculty Scholarship
The Greek debt crisis prompted EU officials to embark on a radical reconstruction of the European sovereign debt markets. Prominently featured in this reconstruction was a set of contract provisions called Collective Action Clauses, or CACs. CACs are supposed to help governments and private creditors to renegotiate unsustainable debt contracts, and obviate the need for EU bailouts. But European sovereign debt contacts were already amenable to restructuring; adding CACs could make it harder. Why, then, promote CACs at all, and cast them in such a central role in the market reform initiative? Using interviews with participants in the initiative and …
