Term Paper Homework
Length: 12 to 15 pages
Changes in Institutions and Capital Markets Following the Financial Crisis
Beginning even before the full impact of the 2007-2009 (and continuing) financial crisis was appreciated, governments, financial regulators, and the financial institutions themselves have implemented major changes in the practices of those institutions. These changes continue and will have a dramatic impact on the ways that the finance industry operates. These changes include (but are certainly not limited to):
1. The Dodd-Frank Bill in the US
2. The Basel III capital standards which will significantly increase the amount and type of capital that banks are required to hold
3. Intervention by central banks to support the liquidity of financial institutions by purchasing securities from or lending against those securities as collateral to the institutions (which also functions as a monetary policy device to increase the money supply and maintain low interest rate)
4. Nationalizing or forcing the merger of financial institutions
5. Separating commercial banking and investment banking operations
6. Limiting the size or market share of institutions
7. Restricting commercial and investment banks from trading for their own account
8. Requiring all (or a greater proportion of) derivatives trades to be conducted over listed exchanges
9. Restructuring how LIBOR (or a replacement interest rate benchmark) is calculated
10. Forcing junior and senior bondholders (and depositors in the case of Cyprus) to share in the losses when a bank is bailed out
11. Limiting or banning certain practices such as short selling of the equity of financial Institutions
12. Bank lending practices, including predatory lending
13. Limiting or intervening in the foreclosure of defaulted mortgage loans
14. Restricting the use of ratings developed by the commercial rating agencies such as Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch
15. Restructuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as other GSEs
For your paper you are to select one of these changes and analyze it. Select an issue (or part of an issue) which is possible to you to sufficiently grasp and analyze. For example, the Dodd Frank Act is much too broad, at 1000+ pages, to tackle, so taking one aspect of the Act, such as the so-called Volker Rule, or the limitation on credit ratings might be more reasonable to tackle. Your selection can extend beyond this list, to examine other actions and can include those in markets outside the US, subject to the approval of the instructor.
While facts and information will underlie the discussion, the key to this homework is your analysis and conclusions regarding the topic. The analysis should at a minimum include:
1. A description of the problem or issue it was intended to address
2. Who, and to what degree, is affected by the action? In a positive or negative way? For example, restrictions on lending behavior affects the lenders themselves, the potential borrowers, and potentially the economy as a whole.
3. What has been the result of that action? Some may not be fully implemented but actions may already have been taken to address them, for example, increases in required bank capital under Basel III will not be required for several years but banks have already taken action to increase their capital).
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
1. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.