A few years ago, countries were seeking to expand their financial sector (move toward the left in the chart) in order to accelerate economic growth. But the crisis has made states more aware of the economic and political risks associated with over-sized banks, as demonstrated by the crisis in Iceland. The crisis has also illustrated the interdependence of the world banking system and the costs of letting foreign banks fail, highlighting the importance of international regulation. The following articles discuss how best to fix finance—through national regulation or international coordination. Read more »

Congressional hearings have focused on the question of whether credit is being extended and by whom. Our chart shows why this question matters. The black and red lines show the tight correlation between home price appreciation and mortgage credit growth. The shaded areas show, through the 3rd quarter, that the government is extending while banks and the securities market are contracting home mortgage credit. Read more »

Financial stocks plunged this week, renewing the debate over how to fix the banking system. The Treasury’s remaining $350 billion in TARP funds would be enough to buy the existing common equity of the U.S. banking system, but buying existing stock wouldn’t provide the banks with new capital. To fix the banks, the Obama administration must select from a range of options that include capital injections, asset purchases, a ‘bad bank’, or nationalization. Read more »

The latest initiative from the Federal Reserve is aimed at the collapse in consumer lending. As our chart shows, the Fed’s promised infusion is roughly equivalent in size to the financing provided by private lenders to this class of borrower in recent years. A key architect of this initiative is Timothy Geithner, whom Barack Obama has nominated as Treasury Secretary. Below we provide links to some of Geithner’s recent speeches and testimony. Read more »

G20 leaders are meeting in Washington to discuss a possible overhaul of global finance. One topic on the agenda is whether to increase the resources of the IMF, which stood at $201 billion at the end of August. However, many underrepresented emerging market countries, such as China, would be wary of such a move without a shift in the power structure. The following articles tackle the agenda of the upcoming G20 meeting. Read more »