Systemic Risk – Wulf Kaal

Conference Announcement: Beyond Crises-Driven Regulation – Initiatives for Sustainable Financial Regulation

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014

University of St. Thomas Law Journal Spring Symposium Friday, April 11, 2014, Minneapolis, MN co-sponsored by the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions 7 hours CLE pending approval – REGISTER NOW SPEAKERS Steven L. Schwarcz, keynote Duke University School of Law Roberta Romano Yale Law School Erik F. Gerding University of Colorado Law School Kimberly […]

The Return of CDOs – Do We Need Dynamic Elements in Financial Regulation?

June 5, 2013

Despite the role of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) in the financial crisis of 2007-08, CDOs and other high risk investment products may soon be available again and are likely to proliferate. The WSJ reports that J.P. Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley bankers are assembling synthetic CDOs to satisfy demand for structured products by investors who seek high […]

Improving Debt Bonus Programs for Executives

February 16, 2013March 25, 2013

UBS is the latest bank to issue a debt bonus in the form of contingent capital notes (CoCos) to its top executives. The UBS issuance follows similar programs set up by Barclays and Credit Suisse. This emerging trend has many beneficial implications but debt bonus programs for executives can be further optimized. Banks’ debt based […]

Improving UBS’s Executive CoCos

February 7, 2013

The FT reports (front page 2/5/2013) that UBS is issuing contingent capital notes (CoCos) to its top 6500 executives. The debt bonus in the form of CoCos will be written down to zero should the bank’s regulatory capital fall below 7 per cent or in the case of a “non-viability” loss. As I have demonstrated in several articles, hedge funds were […]