July 16, 2010

What we least need is a non-transparent “Financial Stability Oversight Council”.

Sir Sebastian Mallaby´s “How to fsoc it to the hedge funds” July 16, clearly indicates that with the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a brand new source of systemic risk has been introduced, much the same when regulators empowered the credit rating agencies with a very important role in setting the capital requirements for banks.

In order to increase our chances to escape from new major disasters, we must avoid the markets having to entertain additional useless speculation about what some holed up “systemic risk experts” might be thinking. In this respect I would suggest that the FSOC is required to open a blog; and place a first post saying “We have the following list of systemically risky institutions” and then allow for the public to comment on whatever they say.

Of course, some good whistleblower protection programs for employees of possible systemically risky institutions might also be useful.