Papers and Presentations

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Welcome
David Altig, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Research paper I—"Did Subjectivity Play a Role in CDO Credit Ratings?"PDF logo

Presenter
John Griffin, Professor of Finance, University of Texas, Austin [Presentation]PDF logo

Moderator
Mark Jensen, Financial Economist and Associate Policy Adviser, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Discussant
Joseph Mason, Professor of Finance, Louisiana State University Ourso School of Business [Presentation]Powerpoint logo

Research paper II—"Contingent Convertible Bonds and Capital Structure Decisions"PDF logo

Presenter
Alexei Tchistyi, Assistant Professor of Finance and Real Estate, University of California, Berkeley [Presentation]PDF logo

Moderator
Gerald Dwyer, Director, Center for Financial Innovation and Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Discussant
Larry Wall, Financial Economist and Policy Adviser, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta [Presentation]PDF logo

Policy Session I—Structured finance
This session explores the creation of various forms of structured finance, addressing particularly its role in the recent financial crisis, the future of structured products, and a possible role for regulation.

"Credit Ratings and the Securitization of Subprime Mortgages"PDF logo
Presenter
John Hull, Professor of Finance, University of Toronto Rotman School of Management [Presentation]PDF logo

Moderator
Charles Plosser, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Discussants
Adam Ashcraft, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York [Presentation]PDF logo
Peter Niculescu, Partner, Capital Market Risk Advisors

Policy Session II—Markets for financial information
This session looks at the key players providing financial information used to determine purchases of securities and how each has contributed to the underlying issues of the recent financial crisis. The discussion will consider key issues in the markets for credit information such as the credit rating agencies, financial intermediaries' balance sheets, guarantees of monoline insurers, and suggested changes. It will also consider issues in the markets for information on equities such as stock analysts and asset management.

"Markets for Financial Information"PDF logo
Presenter
Chester Spatt, Professor of Finance, Carnegie Mellon University [Presentation]PDF logo

Moderator
Jerry Jordan, President, Pacific Academy for Advanced Studies

Discussants
Frank Partnoy, Professor of Law and Finance, University of San Diego [Presentation]PDF logo
Paul English, Head of U.S. Investment Grade Research, Invesco

Keynote
"Redefining and Containing Systemic Risk"PDF logo
Edward Kane, Professor of Finance, Boston College [Presentation]PDF logo


Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Policy Session III—Too big to fail: What should we do?
This discussion examines the risks of continuing current TBTF and too-interconnected-to-fail safety nets and various proposals for scaling them back, including increasing market discipline, achieving orderly resolution, and reducing spillovers from failure.

"What to Do about TBTF?"PDF logo
Presenter
Mark Flannery, Bank of America Eminent Scholar Chair of Finance, University of Florida [Presentation]PDF logo

Moderator
Ron Feldman, Senior Vice President for Supervision, Regulation, and Credit, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis [Presentation]PDF logo

Discussants
Bob Eisenbeis, Chief Monetary Economist, Cumberland Advisors [Presentation]PDF logo
John Bovenzi, Partner, Oliver Wyman

Policy Session IV—The role of macroprudential supervision
This session poses fundamental questions regarding the definition of macroprudential regulation and the scope and function of a macroprudential regulator. Is the objective of a macroprudential regulator to "pop bubbles" before they threaten the financial system, to supervise systemically important institutions, to assure that another crisis doesn't occur, or something else entirely?

"The Role of Macro-Prudential Supervision"PDF logo
Presenter
Charles Goodhart, Professor Emeritus of Banking and Finance, London School of Economics and Political Science [Presentation]PDF logo

Moderator
Eric Rosengren, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Discussants
John Hele, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer, Arch Capital Group Ltd.
Paul Kupiec, Associate Director, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [Presentation]PDF logo

Closing remarks—Dennis Lockhart