2008 Financial Crisis Primer  Tags: financial crisis  

• H.R. Comm. on Oversight and Govt. Reform, "The Financial Crisis and the Role of Federal Regulators". 110th Congress. (6 Oct. 2008).  www.c-span.org 1 Nov. 2008 <link to video> .

Abstract: C-Span coverage of Committee hearings on the role of the major federal regulators of the financial markets.  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Former Treasury Secretary John Snow, and SEC Chairman Christopher Cox are questioned aggresively for nearly four hours.   Formal written statements from each of the regulators are also available from the committee website, www.oversight.house.gov : Greenspan's statement [pdf] ;  Snow's statement [pdf] ; Cox's statement [pdf] .

• Labaton, Stephen. "Agency's '04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt, and Risk." New York Times 3 Oct. 2008, sec. A1.  NewsBank. IIT Downtown Campus Library, Chicago IL.  27 Oct. 2008. <link to article>.

Abstract: "Article in series The Reckoning exploring causes of financial crisis examines impact of 2004 meeting of Securities and Exchange Commission to consider urgent plea by big investment banks seeking exemption for their brokerage units from regulation that limited amount of debt they could shoulder; exemption, called net capital rule, would release billions of dollars held in reserve as cushion against losses on investment; parent company could then invest in mortgage-backed securities, credit derivatives and other exotic instruments; SEC was assured that there would be sufficient restriction against overly risky activity and voted in favor of exemption, imposing little regulation and allowing companies to effectively oversee their own activities; SEC has formally ended program, acknowledging its failure." -- NewsBank

• “Timeline.”  Virtual Museum and Archive of SEC and Securities History.  Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society.   c2002-2008. www.sechistorical.org 11 Nov. 2003 <link to website>.

Abstract: “The Timeline highlights significant developments in the history of securities regulation, against U.S. and world events.”  -- SEC Historical Society.

• "Taming the Beast." Economist 387.8601 (11 Oct. 2008): special section 6-16. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. IIT Downtown Campus Library, Chicago, IL. 26 Oct. 2008 <link to article>.

Abstract: "The article examines proposals for stricter regulation of the financial services industry in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The creation of an unregulated credit system through the use of derivative securities is widely held to have been a major factor in causing the crisis. Research indicates its main role was to spread the effects of a collapse in U.S. housing prices throughout the world financial system. It is noted that even tightly-regulated firms were hit by the crisis." -- Business Source Premier

• Forbes, Steve. “Two Biggest Things Still to Do,” Editorial. Forbes 182.7 (13 Oct. 2008): p. 19.  Business Source Premier.  EBSCO. IIT Downtown Campus Library, Chicago IL.  2 Nov. 2008. <link to article> .

Abstract:  Steve Forbes faults mark-to-market accounting practices and loose monetary policy as the “two big viruses” infecting the economy and calls for immediate regulatory changes.