Sky Blog
The syndicated loan market is one of the largest sources of financing for U.S. firms. This market has experienced tremendous growth over the past 20 years. In fact, some recent estimates suggest that U.S. firms obtain over $1 trillion in …
There are two established explanations for bank runs: coordination problems among depositors and information asymmetries between bank managers and depositors. In a new paper, “Information Gaps and Shadow Banking,” forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review and available here, I …
We believe the recent election will have less impact on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary duty rule than some in the media are currently speculating.[1] While some provisions may be modified by a new Administration, we believe the …
Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the global economy, accounting for a substantial portion of employment and domestic production. According to some estimates, SMEs’ contribution to gross domestic product exceeds 51 percent in high-income countries, consistent …
It is well established that venture capitalists can improve the product market value — the quality of projects and employees — at the private firms they invest in, either by making the firms more efficient (Chemmanur, Krishnan, and Nandy (2011)) …
This is the fourth in a series examining the increased regulatory scrutiny on new and innovative financial technologies (“FinTech”).[1]
This update considers the initiatives of two federal regulatory agencies—the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) and …
Dividend payment is a major corporate decision that occurs regularly, involves substantial amounts of money, interacts with all other important company decisions, and has a significant impact on firm value. Our recent study, available here, examines whether financial reporting …
As sovereign borrowers and their creditors know all too well, the legal framework governing their respective rights and obligations (the so-called international financial architecture) lacks an effective means to enforce payment in most circumstances or to modify payment obligations when …
U.S. regulators, led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), are starting to examine sales practices at large and mid-size banks. They will likely first focus on whether banks have opened accounts for customers without consent as …
The more an investor can learn about a financial security’s value, the better his trades and the higher his profits can be. But research is costly, and trading on one’s own information inevitably affects prices, which then reveal some of …
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently proposed new regulations that will significantly affect international swap transactions.[1] At present, international swap market participants look to the CFTC’s 2013 Interpretive Guidance and Policy Statement Regarding Compliance With Certain Swap Regulations…
On October 25, 2016, the Argentine province of Santa Fe issued $250 million in international bonds. One aspect of this offering is highly unusual for international sovereign debt: the bonds are not listed on any of the major global stock …
The efficiency of dual class share structures is controversial, and whether to allow them is a difficult choice. Though much has been written about this topic, no comprehensive picture of dual class structures’ governance effects has emerged.
Although dual class …
Prior to the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, global banks were big, broad and borderless. They operated as integrated groups. Separate legal entities within a group were an afterthought: The results that mattered were those for lines of …
Two major challenges have arisen for financial services companies since the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008. On the expense side, post-crisis fines have exceeded $200 billion, and the ongoing cost of regulation and compliance has become massive. On the …
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or “Bureau”) made headlines in FinTech on October 24, 2016. First, the Bureau released its first-ever Project Catalyst report on promoting consumer-friendly innovation (the “Report”). The Report summarizes the work conducted by Project …
There is an increasing worldwide focus on trying to end the problem of “too big to fail” (“TBTF”). Regulators are concerned that systemically important financial firms might engage in excessive risk-taking because they would profit from a success and be …
High-frequency quoting and trading (HFQ) has become a global phenomenon. It’s based on reducing the lag time – known as latency – between order submission and execution or cancellation so that order outcome is reported almost instantaneously. A number of …
In the controversial practice of appraisal arbitrage, activist investors buy shares of a corporation to be acquired by merger so as to assert appraisal rights challenging the merger price – which may already have been approved by the target’s stockholders. …
In a September 22, 2016, post on this blog, available here, Professor Wulf Kaal asked in the title to his piece, “What Happens When Technology Is Faster Than the Law?” He noted that while “innovation driven by science and …