Financial re-regulation at a crossroads: How the European experience strengthens the case for a radical reform built on Minsky’s approach

Authors

  • Elisabetta Montanaro
  • Mario Tonveronachi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13133/2037-3643/10194

Keywords:

financial regulation, financial fragility, European banks

Abstract

The current financial and sovereign crisis is pushing European politicians and EU bureaucrats to devise new institutional and policy solutions. However, the new EU institutional framework and stricter regulatory requirements do not introduce significant changes in the laissez-faire nature of the regulatory approach. Our opinion is that the entire re-regulation process does not go to the roots of how financial fragility endogenously accumulates, and how finally it produces a crisis each time starting from the weakest part of the financial system. Analysing the European banking sectors from this perspective, we show how domestic specificities add to the limits due to risk-based regulation and supervision. We then build on Minsky’s regulatory proposals to present the skeleton of a simple alternative to the existing regulatory approach.

 

 JEL Codes: G01, G21, G28

 

References

ADMATI A.R., DE MARZO P.M., HELLWIG M.F. and PFLEIDERER P. (2010), “Fallacies, irrelevant facts, and myths in the discussion of capital regulation: Why bank equity is not expensive”, Stanford GSB Research Paper, n. 2063, September.

ADRIAN T. and SHIN H.S. (2010), “Liquidity and leverage”, Journal of Financial Intermediation, vol. 19 n. 3, pp. 418-437.

AYADI R., ARBAK E. and DE GROEN W.P. (2012), “Implementing Basel II in Europe: Diagnosis and avenues for improvement”, CEPS Policy Brief, n. 275.

BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION (2012), “Report to G20 Leaders on Basel III implementation”, June.

BIS (2012), “European bank funding and deleveraging”, BIS Quarterly Review, March, pp. 1-15.

CARMASSI J. and MICOSSI S. (2012), “Time to set bank regulation right”, CEPS Paperbacks, 15 March.

CEBS (2009), “Guidelines on the implementation of the revised large exposure regime”, 11 December.

CHOW J.T.S. and SURTI J. (2011), “Making banks safer: can Volker and Vickers do it?”, IMF Working Paper, WP/11/236, October.

ECB (2008), “Financial Integration in Europe”, April.

ECB (2009), “EU banks’ funding structures and policies”, May.

ECB (2011), “Euro Area markets for banks’ long-term debt financing instruments: recent developments, state of integration and implications for monetary policy transmission”, Monthly Bulletin, November, pp. 73-90.

ECB (2012), “Changes in bank financing patterns”, April.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE (2001), “Report on financial crisis management”, EFC/ECFIN/251/01, Brussels, 17 April.

EISENBEIS R.A. and KAUFMAN G. (2007), “Cross-border banking: challenges for deposit insurance and financial stability in the European Union”, in Benink H., Goodhart C.A.E. and Lastra R. (eds.), Prompt corrective action & cross-border supervisory issues in Europe, LSE Financial Markets Group Special Paper, n. 171, April.

ENRIA A. (2012), “Developing a Single Rulebook in banking”, Central Bank of Ireland – Stakeholder Conference “Financial Regulation – Thinking about the future”, 27 April.

ENRIA A. and VESALA J. (2003), “Externalities in supervision: the European case”, in Kremers J.K.J, Schoenmaker D. and Wierts P. (eds.), Financial Supervision in Europe, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 60-90.

ESRB (2012), “Forbearance, resolution and deposit insurance”, Reports of the Advisory Scientific Committee, n. 1, July.

ESRB (2012), “Principles for the development of a macro-prudential framework in the EU in the context of the capital requirements legislation”, Frankfurt, 29 March, ESRB/2012/0050.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2010), “Regulating financial services for sustainable growth”, COM(2010) 301 final, 2 June 2010.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2011), “Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms”, Commission Staff Working Paper – Impact Assessment, SEC(2011) 949 final, Brussels, 20 July.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2011), “Commission wants stronger and more responsible banks in Europe”, 20 July, Press Release.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2012), “Ireland’s economic crisis: how did it happen and what is being done about it?”.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2012), COM(2012) 299 final, 30 May.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2012), “A roadmap towards a Banking Union”, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, COM (2012) 510 final, 12 September.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2012), “Proposal for a Council Regulation conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions”, COM (2012) 511 final, 12 September.

EUROPEAN COUNCIL (2012), “Towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union”, report by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, EUCO 12/12, 26 June.

FREIXAS X. (2003), ‘Crisis Management in Europe’, in Kremers J.K.J, Schoenmaker D. and Wierts P. (eds.), Financial Supervision in Europe, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 102-119.

FSB (2011), “Policy measures to address Systematically Important Financial Institutions”, 4 November.

GARCIA G. and NIETO M.J. (2005), “Banking crisis management in the European Union: Multiple regulators and resolution authorities”, Journal of Banking Regulation, n. 6, pp. 206-226.

GOODHART C.A.E. (2012), “Ratio controls need reconsideration”, draft paper presented at the Workshop for heads of financial stability, 12-13 March, Bank of England..

GOODHART C.A.E. and SCHOENMAKER D. (2006), “Burden sharing in a banking crisis in Europe”, LSE, Financial Markets Group Special Paper, n. 164, March.

GREENSPAN A. (2010), The crisis.

GROS D. (2012), “Macroeconomic imbalances in the Euro Area: Symptom or cause of the crisis?”, CEPS Policy Brief, n. 266, April.

HALDANE A.G. (2010), The $100 billion question, Bank of England, March.

HALDANE A.G. (2011) “Capital Discipline”, Remarks by Mr Andrew G Haldane, Executive Director of the Bank of England, based on a speech given at the American Economic Association, Denver, Colorado, 9 January.

HANNOUN H. (2011), “Sovereign risk in bank regulation and supervision. Where do we stand?”, Financial Stability Institute High-Level Meeting, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 26 October.

HELLWIG M.F. (2010), “Capital regulation after the crisis: business as usual?”, Preprints of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn 2010/31, July.

HM TREASURY (2011), “The Government response to the Independent Commission on Banking”, December.

KASHYAP A.K., STEIN J.C. and HANSON S. (2010), “An analysis of the impact of ‘substantially heightened’ capital requirements on large financial institutions”, University of Chicago and Harvard, working paper, May.

IMF (2012), “The Quest for Lasting Stability”, Global Financial Stability Report, April.

IMF (2012), “Euro Area policies: 2012 Article IV Consultation – Selected Issues Paper”, IMF Country Report, n. 12/182, July.

INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON BANKING (2011), Final Report and Recommendations.

ISARESCU M. (2012), “The future of the international banking system”, paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Club of Rome, Bucharest, 2 October.

JOHNSON S. (2012), “Big banks fall back on three myths”, Baseline Scenario.

KREGEL J. (2009), “Observations on the problem of ‘too big to fail/save/resolve’”, Policy Note, n. 2009/11, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson (NY).

KREGEL J. (ed.) (2011), Minsky on the reregulation and restructuring of the financial system. Will Dodd-Frank prevent ‘It’ from happening again?”, Levy Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson (NY).

KREGEL J. (2012), Using Minsky to simplify financial regulation, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, April.

LE LESLÉ V. and AVRAMOVA S. (2012), “Revisiting Risk-Weighted Assets. Why Do RWAs Differ Across Countries and What Can Be Done About It?”, IMF Working Paper, n. WP/12/90, March.

LIIKANEN E. (2012), “The case for structural reforms of banking after the crisis”, speech at the European Commission, Brussels, 2 October.

LIIKANEN REPORT (2012), High-level Expert Group on reforming the structure of the EU banking sector. Final Report”, Brussels, 2 October.

MCKINSEY&COMPANY (2012), Day of reckoning for European retail banking, July.

MINSKY H. (1987), Stabilising an Unstable Economy, New Haven: Yale University Press.

MINSKY H. (1994), “Issues in bank regulation and supervision”, Minsky Archive, paper 72.

MINSKY H. (1995), “Reforming banking in 1995: Repeal of the Glass Steagall Act, some basic issues”, Minsky Archive, paper 59.

PISANI-FERRY J., SAPIR A. and WOLFF G.B. (2012), “The messy rebuilding of Europe”, Bruegel Policy Brief, n. 2012/01, March.

PISANI-FERRY J., SAPIR A., VERON N. and WOLFF G.B. (2012), “What kind of European Banking Union?”, Bruegel Policy Contribution, Issue 2012/12, June.

R&S (2009), “Dati cumulativi delle principali banche internazionali”, Milano.

RONCAGLIA A. (2012), “Keynesian uncertainty and the shaky foundations of statistical risk assessment models”, in this same Issue.

SHIN H.S. (2009), “Reflections on Northern Rock: The bank run that heralded the global financial crisis”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 23 n. 1, pp. 101-119.

TONVERONACHI M. (2009), “Cominciamo a parlare della prossima crisi”, Moneta e Credito, vol. 63 n. 249, pp. 35-50.

TONVERONACHI M. (2010), “Financial innovation and system design”, PSL Quarterly Review, vol. 63 n. 253, pp. 131-144.

TONVERONACHI M. (2010), “Empowering supervisors with more principles and discretion to implement them will not reduce the dangers of the prudential approach to financial regulation”, PSL Quarterly Review, vol. 63 n. 255, pp. 363-378.

TONVERONACHI M. and MONTANARO E. (2009), “Some preliminary proposals for re-regulating financial systems”, Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia politica, n. 553, Università di Siena, January.

TONVERONACHI M. and MONTANARO E. (2010), “Reestructuración del sistema financiero: presentación sintética de un enfoque alternative para la regulación financiera”, Ensajos Económicos, Banco Central de la República Argentina, January-July BCRA, pp. 127-143.

VASQUEZ F. and FEDERICO P. (2012), “Bank funding structures and risk: evidence from the global financial crisis”, IMF Working Paper, n. 12/29, January.

Downloads

How to Cite

Montanaro, E., & Tonveronachi, M. (2013). Financial re-regulation at a crossroads: How the European experience strengthens the case for a radical reform built on Minsky’s approach. PSL Quarterly Review, 65(263). https://doi.org/10.13133/2037-3643/10194

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>