Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System

Many people have suffered from the current financial crisis losing homes and jobs, while seeing their retirement accounts drop steeply. They are asking four main questions: U.S. mortgage problems turn into a global financial crisis and can we fix these mortgage problems? Have we found effective ways to limit the adverse impact of the financial crisis on the stock and bond markets? How has the Bailout Act worked so far and what more needs to be done to resolve the current financial crisis? What steps should we take, in the U.S. and abroad, to prevent another financial crisis in the future? This book answers these questions, providing readers a decisive look into the future. Part I explains how the U.S. housing market became globalized through the securitization of mortgages, where the public and private players in the securitization process went wrong, and what needs to be done to fix the securitization process. Part II explains how the deleveraging of financial institutions led to sharp price declines in the securities markets, the success of some measures to unfreeze the bond markets, and the perverse effects of other measures intended to calm investors. Part III reflects on the three main strategies contained in the Bailout Act buying troubled assets, recapitalizing banks and limiting executive compensation. Part IV discusses the implications of the financial crisis for the future structure of regulation and accounting in the U.S. and internationally.