Too Big to Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts [Paperback]

Gary H. Stern (Author), Ron J. Feldman (Author), Paul A. Volcker (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2009

The potential failure of a large bank presents vexing questions for policymakers. It poses significant risks to other financial institutions, to the financial system as a whole, and possibly to the economic and social order. Because of such fears, policymakers in many countries—ldeveloped and less developed, democratic and autocratic—respond by protecting bank creditors from all or some of the losses they otherwise would face. Failing banks are labeled "too big to fail" (or TBTF). This important new book examines the issues surrounding TBTF, explaining why it is a problem and discussing ways of dealing with it more effectively.

Gary Stern and Ron Feldman, officers with the Federal Reserve, warn that not enough has been done to reduce creditors' expectations of TBTF protection. Many of the existing pledges and policies meant to convince creditors that they will bear market losses when large banks fail are not credible, resulting in significant net costs to the economy. The authors recommend that policymakers enact a series of reforms to reduce expectations of bailouts when large banks fail.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This short book lucidly explains the moral hazard problem that plagues large financial institutions policymakers deem too big to fail...[it] contains something of interest for everyone.--Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization

This is a valuable and comprehensive treatise on TBTF, a critically important policy issue that needs to be addressed well before another banking or financial crisis occurs. Policymakers, regulators, government officials, legislators, and private financial companies should read and heed the authors' analysis and recommendations.--Richard M. Kovacevich, Chairman, Wells Fargo

Stern and Feldman have written an important book on the too-big-to-fail problem. . . .This book deserves to be widely read in the banking regulation and supervisory world.--Frederic Mishkin in the Journa of Economic Literature

This book should be required reading for all policy makers. Highly recommended. --CHOICE

Review

"This is a valuable and comprehensive treatise on TBTF, a critically important policy issue that needs to be addressed well before another banking or financial crisis occurs. Policymakers, regulators, government officials, legislators, and private financial companies should read and heed the authors' analysis and recommendations." —Richard M. Kovacevich, Chairman, Wells Fargo

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (March 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081570304X
• ISBN-13: 978-0815703044
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Analysis, May 14, 2006

By 

Bayou Boy (Shreveport, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Too Big to Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts (Hardcover)

As a 35 year banker (and loan officer) I have seen and survived the dark days of 1985-1992 when the banking industry was on the edge.

Penn Square as the harbringer of disaster and the impact on the industry was a rude awakening.

Thus, the spectre of TBTF; particularly as more banks continue to grow and we now have trillion dollar financial institutions.

This book covers TBTF with outstanding analysis. In fact, it should be required reading for government, regulators, and bankers (certainly senior management and boards),

An awesome book.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars-Bank speculation has always been a fundamental problem, May 22, 2008

By 

Michael Emmett Brady "mandmbrady" (Bellflower, California ,United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Too Big to Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts (Hardcover)

Stern and Feldman(SF) do a good job in demonstrating the complete idiocy of deregulating and privatizing the commercial banking industry ,specifically, and the financial sector ,in general ,starting with the Carter administration in 1979 and continuing through all Democratic and Republican administrations through 2008,at a time when the size of the average firm in the industry was getting larger and larger.

SF are absolutely correct that the 1991 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act(FDICIA)did not improve bank regulation substantially and make the too big to fail problem less severe.Ben Bernanke's(coordinated with the financial actions of the other 7 major central banks) 1 trillion dollar bailout ,starting in late August,2007 and continuing through May,2008,of Wall Street and the commercial banking system is just the latest additional piece of evidence that the problem of banker speculation,which has been recognized for thousands of years,is fundamental.

I have subtracted one star because the authors appear to have no idea that Adam Smith went over this problem in detail on pp.290-340 of The Wealth of Nations(1776,Modern Library (Cannan)edition).Smith's discussion is a modern,updated analysis of the standard Catholic(Medieval Church)position concerning banking,loans,the rate of interest,usury laws,and speculation.Smith shows clearly that the banks prefer to make loans available to projectors(Keynes's stock and financial market speculators and rentiers) because of the apparent high short run rate of return on such loans.The long run consequences,which impose immense negative externality and spillover impacts on people worldwide , are ignored.Nothing has changed since Smith wrote his masterpiece over 230 years ago.Securitization is a code word for speculation.The last 30 years has seen a continuing parade of junk bonds,phony income and balance sheet accounting claims,dot com bombs,and securities backed by bonds backed by mortgages that were backed up by nothing but claims made by rating agencies and underwriters.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound reflection on the "too big to fail" doctrine, August 18, 2009

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Too Big to Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts (Paperback)

In this clearly prophetic book, Gary H. Stern and Ron J. Feldman examine the "too big to fail" doctrine, and show how policymakers made the financial system riskier by implicitly promising to bail out the biggest banking institutions. In the wake of the global financial crisis in which several major institutions failed in 2008, getAbstract welcomes this reissued, lucid assessment of one of the most perplexing, perverse policies in financial regulation, the idea that some institutions are too big to fail. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker's foreword helps sharpen the book's focus, and the authors' advocacy for an end to bailouts is quite persuasive. This book is recommended reading for anyone seriously interested in understanding the calculus of financial policymakers, financial system risk, and the tilted playing field that benefits huge, risky banks and their shareholders.