We study performance of Islamic and conventional indices of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the wake of financial crisis of 2008 and test whether Islamic indices were less risky than conventional indices. We make use of data of the six GCC markets as well as the Dow Jones Islamic...

The cost of systemic risk in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market is described and estimated. Modern portfolio theory (MPT), applied to OTC derivatives, predicts this cost, which has been growing since 1970. This cost grew because Congress blocked MPT's predicted market forces. Without...

We discuss the literature on the shift from stakeholder to shareholder finance behind the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). Traditional banks generally maximized stakeholder value (STV). But before the GFC also many of them started maximizing shareholder value (SHV). Moving from STV to SHV often...

With the proposals of the United Kingdom's Independent Commission on Banking (now enacted in legislation), the “ring-fencing” of core banking functions and their legal and commercial insulation against the risks emanating from investment banking has attracted wide-spread attention in both...

This paper uses new data on the timing of sovereign defaults during 1869-1914 to quantify an informational channel of contagion via shared financial intermediaries. Concerns over reputation incentivized Britain's merchant banks to monitor, advise, and occasionally bail out sovereigns. Default...

The global financial crisis triggered a vast number of new laws and regulations at international level, including initiatives that can be classified as "soft law". The legitimacy and efficacy of these new norms are subject to intensive academic and political debates. At the same time, soft law...

As a response to multiple financial shocks, international standards have disappointed. Consensus-seeking has stifled innovation, perpetuating outdated regulatory concepts at a time of rapid market change. Different forces are at work now. Markets are complex and idiosyncratic; they may not be...

The global financial and economic crisis marks an important turning point for finance and the Asian growth model. Regional consensus is now supporting economic rebalancing away from the dominant focus on exports to developed markets and towards more a more balanced economic structure supported...

This paper examines the contagion effects of the U.S. subprime crisis on international stock markets using a DCC-GARCH model on 38 country data. We find evidence of financial contagion not only in emerging markets but also in developed markets during the U.S. subprime crisis. We also find...