Sky Blog
On July 27, the three federal banking agencies (the Agencies)[1] jointly proposed changes to the regulatory capital framework applicable to large banks and bank holding companies (the Proposal). The Proposal is the U.S. adaptation of the 2017 revisions to …
On July 27, 2023, US federal banking regulators issued proposals to (i) significantly revise the risk-based regulatory capital requirements for certain midsize and larger US banking organizations (the “Capital Proposal”), and (ii) change the method for calculating the capital surcharge …
In a new paper, we examine the extent to which cross-border M&A is influenced by tax avoidance motives and quantify the resulting tax savings.
Firms employ tax avoidance strategies like profit shifting or the relocation of their tax residence to …
In the past few years, the economies of developing countries and emerging markets have been upended by the once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine. As a result, these economies have suffered from a array of …
On July 18, 2023, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr cautioned banks against fair lending violations arising from their use of artificial intelligence (AI). Training on data reflecting societal biases; data sets that are incomplete, inaccurate, or nonrepresentative; …
Financial statement fraud has many negative effects, including a reduction in people’s willingness to participate in the stock market. It may also cast accountants in a negative light because they prepare and audit financial statements – sometimes even fraudulent ones. …
On July 27, 2023, the federal banking agencies released a lengthy proposal to revise the capital rules applicable to large banks and bank holding companies. The headline news is that the banking agencies expect the proposal to increase capital requirements …
During the past decade, many corporations across the globe have issued green bonds – which are identical to traditional corporate bonds except that their proceeds are dedicated to environmental and climate-friendly corporate investments. Since they were first created in 2013, …
In a new book, I discuss “investment crowdfunding” (also known as “equity crowdfunding” or “securities crowdfunding”), an inclusive new type of online venture capital market – it’s like Kickstarter, except you get a share of stock. More formally, …
The Recovering Executive Compensation Obtained from Unaccountable Practices (RECOUP) Act, designed to hold senior executives at banking organizations accountable, has broad and unusual bipartisan support, passing out of the Senate Banking Committee by a 21-2 bipartisan vote. As the bill …
Quarterly earnings guidance is a controversial practice. Critics say it can cause companies to focus on short-term profits, while others argue that it sets reasonable market expectations and enhances stock liquidity while reducing stock volatility and earnings uncertainty. One type …
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent actions against Binance and Coinbase show that the commission is worried about the business model of crypto-trading platforms. In its complaint against Binance, for example, the SEC expressed concerns about the offering of “three …
Since 2000, of the total number of private firms that have gained access to the equity markets for the first time, more have done so through acquisition by another firm (public or private) than through an initial public offering (IPO). …
Substantively, banks are pooled investment funds, like mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and so on: They take people’s money and use it to buy financial assets. There is one crucial difference, however. In those other funds, losses are immediately passed …
To some extent, this is another collection of words about an acronym that collects words, in the largely passive and meaningless manner of a lint roller. Elizabeth Pollman recently developed a deft history of the acronym ESG, which stands for …
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, there’s been an exponential surge in the use of generative AI tools. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these tools are also of considerable interest to financial firms. As a case in point, Ken …
Crypto is at a crossroads. After a cascade of bankruptcies – including FTX’s implosion – millions of defrauded customers, and trillions of dollars in value destruction, many are wondering whether the sector has a future. Amidst the wreckage, after years …
Earnings announcements serve a well-recognized role of conveying important information about firm performance to the market. However, an often-overlooked role of earnings releases is their ability to discipline market expectations.
Our study examines this disciplining role in the context of …
In a recent paper, we examine whether listed bank holding companies (BHCs) that are small enough to stay private are riskier than private BHCs that are large enough to go public but have opted not to do so.
Some …
The runs on Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March 2023 created a “very high” risk of contagion in the U.S. banking system, according to Treasury Department officials. The intervention by banking regulators, using tools approved in response …