From award-winning "Financial Times" journalist Gillian Tett, who enraged Wall Street leaders with her newsbreaking warnings of a crisis more than a year ahead of the curve, "Fool's Gold" tells the astonishing unknown story at the heart of the 2008 meltdown.
Drawing on exclusive access to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and a tightly bonded team of bankers known on Wall Street as the "Morgan Mafia," as well as in-depth interviews with dozens of other key players, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Tett brings to life in gripping detail how the Morgan team's bold ideas for a whole new kind of financial alchemy helped to ignite a revolution in banking, and how that revolution escalated wildly out of control.
The deeply reported and lively narrative takes readers behind the scenes, to the inner sanctums of elite finance and to the secretive reaches of what came to be known as the "shadow banking" world. The story begins with the intense Morgan brainstorming session in 1994 beside a pool in Boca Raton, where the team cooked up a dazzling new idea for the exotic financial product known as credit derivatives. That idea would rip around the banking world, catapult Morgan to the top of the turbocharged derivatives trade, and fuel an extraordinary banking boom that seemed to have unleashed banks from ages-old constraints of risk.
But when the Morgan team's derivatives dream collided with the housing boom, and was perverted -- through hubris, delusion, and sheer greed -- by titans of banking that included Citigroup, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and the thundering herd at Merrill Lynch -- even as J.P. Morgan itself stayed well away from the risky concoctions others were peddling -- catastrophe followed. Tett's access to Dimon and the J.P. Morgan leaders who so skillfully steered their bank away from the wild excesses of others sheds invaluable light not only on the untold story of how they engineered their bank's escape from carnage but also on how possible it was for the larger banking world, regulators, and rating agencies to have spotted, and heeded, the terrible risks of a meltdown.
A tale of blistering brilliance and willfully blind ambition, "Fool's Gold" is both a rare journey deep inside the arcane and wildly competitive world of high finance and a vital contribution to understanding how the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression was perpetrated.

Price stability and availability of sufficient credit for productive purposes have all along remained the twin objectives of monetary policy in India. The monetary policy reforms since 1991 have hinged on easing fiscal constraints. The first important step was introduction of an auction system for the Central Government's market borrowings in June 1992. This enabled an increasing proportion of the fiscal deficit to be financed by borrowings at market-related rates of interest. This, in turn, enabled the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to scale down the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) to the targeted statutory minimum level of 25.0 percent by October 1997. The second significant step was the historic accord between the Government and the RBI in September 1994, eliminating the automatic monetisation of the Centre's fiscal deficit by gradually phasing out ad hocs by April 1997. A system of ways and means advances (WMA) to the Central Government, subject to mutually agreed limits at market-related rates, was put in place instead to meet mismatches in cash flows. Credit policy is a powerful instrument for securing the desired economic results. Credit control can exercise a healthy restraining influence on speculation and can assist in bringing about a better balance between aggregate demand and aggregate supply. RBI has largely been successful in bringing the organised sector of the money market well under its control. RBI is also playing a more active role in the provision of rural finance and is devoting special attention to the problem of promoting banking development in parts of the country in which it has hitherto been lacking. These developments have strengthened the credit system materially. This book deals with various dimensions of monetary and credit management in India, focusing on post-liberalisation (1991 onward) period.

Credit risk is today one of the most intensely studied topics in quantitative finance. This book provides an introduction and overview for readers who seek an up-to-date reference to the central problems of the field and to the tools currently used to analyze them. The book is aimed at researchers and students in finance, at quantitative analysts in banks and other financial institutions, and at regulators interested in the modeling aspects of credit risk.

David Lando considers the two broad approaches to credit risk analysis: that based on classical option pricing models on the one hand, and on a direct modeling of the default probability of issuers on the other. He offers insights that can be drawn from each approach and demonstrates that the distinction between the two approaches is not at all clear-cut. The book strikes a fruitful balance between quickly presenting the basic ideas of the models and offering enough detail so readers can derive and implement the models themselves. The discussion of the models and their limitations and five technical appendixes help readers expand and generalize the models themselves or to understand existing generalizations. The book emphasizes models for pricing as well as statistical techniques for estimating their parameters. Applications include rating-based modeling, modeling of dependent defaults, swap- and corporate-yield curve dynamics, credit default swaps, and collateralized debt obligations.

Credit rating system started in India in 1987 when the first credit rating agency was established in the country, namely The Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL). In tandem with the progress of economic liberalisation since 1991, the credit rating industry has also spread its wings and is now an integral part of the Indian financial system. Although a relatively new concept, credit rating has caught the fancy of financial analysts who are ever eager to develop new methods to rate corporate debt, keeping in mind the domestic business environment and the psychology of the Indian investor. This book is unique because it not only examines the existing practices of credit rating in India but also evaluates the performance of the Indian credit rating agencies themselves.

Praise for MAVERICK REAL ESTATE FINANCING
"Once you start reading, you won't be able to put the book down. You will feel you are part of the deals that industry leaders have put together. This is a real book about real people and how they address risk and reward."
--Bruce S. Schonbraun, Managing Partner The Schonbraun McCann Group LLP
"Bergsman applies a journalist's logic to the complex world of commercial real estate, making it easier for outsiders to understand. He writes with the authority of a true insider."
--Brannon Boswell, Managing Editor Shopping Centers Today
"Congratulations. Finally, someone has written a book that reflects real estate finance in the twenty-first century. With the growing proliferation of real estate education in university business schools today, this book should be required reading "
--James D. Kuhn, President Newmark Knight Frank
In Maverick Real Estate Financing, Steve Bergsman--author of the widely acclaimed Maverick Real Estate Investing--describes the various financing methods you can use to achieve real estate investment success. Maverick Real Estate Financing also introduces you to an innovative group of real estate professionals who have used these methods to build substantial fortunes.
By listening to some of the world's most successful real estate Mavericks--includingWilliam Sanders, W. P. Carey, and Stephen Ross--you'll discover what sets them apart from the rest of the pack and learn how to apply their proven principles to your own real estate deals.
Each chapter examines a different real estate financing technique and the Maverick who best exemplifies it. Some of the strategies and products discussed include:
* Equity financing
* Public and private REITs
* Agency loans
* UPREITs
* Commingled capital
* Retail site arbitrage
* Conduit loans
* Sale-leasebacks
* Distressed mortgages
* Low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs)

An Analytical Approach to Investments, Finance, and Credit provides a highly practical and relevant guide to graduating students beginning their careers in investment banking. The author applies his 30 plus years of experience in banking and 15 years of teaching as an adjunct finance professor to effectively combine the core principals of an academic textbook with the practical training that major investment banks provide to first-year analysts. Part I introduces the student to investment portfolio concepts including volatility risk, alpha, beta, Sharpe ratio, and efficient frontiers. Part II covers the primary markets where companies access the equity, bond, and loan markets. Part III explains these markets from the investor's point of view, covering the secondary trading markets of stocks, bonds, loans, and derivatives. Part IV comprises corporate finance fundamentals that many investment banks require for valuation, financial, and credit analysis for private and publicly traded companies. Part V provides students with step-by-step financial modeling for analyzing leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and other complex financial models. These models are accessible via the Cognella Active Learning platform. Throughout the text, the author provides multiple case studies that bridge the gap between academic concepts and practical application, which reinforces critical thinking.

Manuela Spangler deals with the default risk modelling of German covered bonds (Pfandbriefe). Existing credit risk models are not suitable for this purpose as they only consider the creditworthiness of the issuer while product-specific features are not taken into account. The author develops a multi-period simulation-based Pfandbrief model which adequately accounts for the product's most important characteristics and risks. The model provides a flexible framework for structural analyses and can be easily extended for tailor-made investigations. While the focus of the work is on the specification of the model itself, simulation results from an exemplary model calibration are also discussed. About the Author Manuela Spangler works as a quantitative risk analyst for a large asset management company and holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Augsburg. Prior to her current position, she worked as a risk manager and financial engineer in the banking and insurance sector for various years.

Regardless of their background, UK Property Professionals often find themselves having to make Credit Management decisions on a daily basis without either training or experience. This book provides an accessible reference guide, covering all the main transactional events which Property Professionals encounter in the course of their work, with advice and case studies demonstrating how to minimise financial exposure and eliminate loss. This is not a text book, rather it is a simple set of touch points and no go areas which will enable anyone in the commercial property industry to avoid the pitfalls that so many people encounter when conducting business in good faith with others. In my thirty plus years in the credit industry, much of it in property, I've come across most of the situations that can crop up to disrupt the landlord and tenant relationship, and in this book I share my thoughts, experiences, procedures and remedies in the hope that others may learn the easy way!

The lending industry is comprised of a wide variety of sectors, such as banking, credit cards, mortgages, leasing and consumer finance. Many of these sectors have interconnections and synergies. In addition, a large number of related services and technologies have a major influence on the lending and credit business. Meanwhile, international acquisitions are shaping up the globalized banking industry of the future. This carefully-researched book is a banking, credit and mortgages market research and business intelligence tool-everything you need to know about the business of banking, credit cards, mortgages and lending, including: money center banks; regional banks; savings associations; brokerage; home equity loans; credit cards; globalization of the banking and lending industries; and other services provided by non-bank enterprises. Analysis includes significant trends in banking and lending technologies, risk analysis, payment processing, call centers and other support services, online banking trends, ATMs and software. This book includes our profiles of 325 of the world's leading firms in the banking, mortgages and credit industry. You'll find a complete overview, industry analysis and market research report in one superb, value-priced package.

A comprehensive guide to credit risk management

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"The Handbook of Credit Risk Management" presents a comprehensive overview of the practice of credit risk management for a large institution. It is a guide for professionals and students wanting a deeper understanding of how to manage credit exposures. The Handbook provides a detailed roadmap for managing beyond the financial analysis of individual transactions and counterparties. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, the authors outline how to manage a portfolio of credit exposures--from origination and assessment of credit fundamentals to hedging and pricing. The Handbook is relevant for corporations, pension funds, endowments, asset managers, banks and insurance companies alike.Covers the four essential aspects of credit risk management: Origination, Credit Risk Assessment, Portfolio Management and Risk Transfer.Provides ample references to and examples of credit market services as a resource for those readers having credit risk responsibilities.Designed for busy professionals as well as finance, risk management and MBA students.

As financial transactions grow more complex, proactive management of credit portfolios is no longer optional for an institution, but a matter of survival.

The book examines the role of credit rating agencies (CRAs) in the subprime mortgage crisis. The CRAs are blamed for awarding risky securities '3-A' investment grade status and then failing to downgrade them quickly enough when circumstances changed, which led to investors suffering substantial losses. The causes identified by the regulators for the gatekeeper failure were conflicts of interest (as the issuers of these securities pay for the ratings); lack of competition (as the Big Three CRAs have dominated the market share); and lack of regulation for CRAs. The book examines how the regulators, both in the US and EU, have sought to address these problems by introducing soft law self-regulation in accordance with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions Code and hard law statutory regulation, such as that found in the "Reform Act" and "Dodd-Frank Act" in the US and similar provisions in the EU. The highly topical book examines these provisions in detail by using a doctrinal black-letter law method to assess the success of the regulators in redressing the problems identified. It also examines the US case law regulation relating to the legal liability of CRAs. The book examines whether the regulations introduced have had a deterrent effect on the actions of CRAs, whether investors are compensated for their losses, and how the regulators have dealt with the issues of conflicts of interest and an anti-competitive environment. Should liability be introduced for CRAs through changes in the law so as to compel them to issue reliable ratings and solve the current problems? The book seeks to simplify the complex issues involved and is backed by concrete evidence; as such, it will appeal to both the well-informed and the lay general public who are interested in learning more about the role of CRAs in the sub-prime mortgage crisis and regulators' attempts to remedy the situation. Novice readers can familiarise themselves with the legal and financial terminology used by referring to the glossary at the end of the book.

This book offers a comparative analysis of credit cooperative systems across 23 European countries. Cooperative banking has an important place in the financial, economic and social life of most European countries, and while cooperative banks, credit mutuals, credit cooperatives and credit unions share the spirit of cooperation and mutuality, they often have very different features, history and development. The book examines the evolution and current model of each credit cooperative system, its importance for the national and local banking markets, as well as the impact of the financial crisis on cooperative banking, and also presents the sharp contrasts between these systems throughout the EU. It is of significant scientific and practical interest and enables policymakers, practitioners and academics at European and national levels to deepen their understanding of the evolution of the system and its governance.

This book presents an analysis of the role of UK building societies, their strengths and weaknesses, and their contribution to the industry, at a time where public confidence in banking is low. Chapters present the results of an empirical analysis of the comparative performance of UK building societies, since the large-scale demutualisation process ended in the year 2000. The authors highlight the substantial impact of the financial crisis on the sector, with 2008 and 2009 being particularly difficult years. The book discusses banks and building societies in the context of the improving economy and show that both groups have recovered some profitability, although not at the pre-crisis level. The reader will discover that building societies in particular have recovered well from the financial turmoil and they appear less risky than banks on a variety of measures.

Data assimilation is an approach that combines observations and model output, with the objective of improving the latter. This book places data assimilation into the broader context of inverse problems and the theory, methods, and algorithms that are used for their solution. It provides a framework for, and insight into, the inverse problem nature of data assimilation, emphasizing "why" and not just "how". Methods and diagnostics are emphasized, enabling readers to readily apply them to their own field of study. Readers will find:* A comprehensive guide that is accessible to nonexperts.* Numerous examples and diverse applications from a broad range of domains, including geophysics and geophysical flows, environmental acoustics, medical imaging, mechanical and biomedical engineering, economics and finance, and traffic control and urban planning.* The latest methods for advanced data assimilation, combining variational and statistical approaches.

Modelling credit risk accurately is central to the practice of mathematical finance. The majority of available texts are aimed at an advanced level, and are more suitable for PhD students and researchers. This volume of the Mastering Mathematical Finance series addresses the need for a course intended for master's students, final-year undergraduates, and practitioners. The book focuses on the two mainstream modelling approaches to credit risk, namely structural models and reduced-form models, and on pricing selected credit risk derivatives. Balancing rigorous theory with examples, it takes readers through a natural development of mathematical ideas and financial intuition.

In recent years, the European Commission has attached increasing importance to the use of financial engineering instruments rather than traditional grant-based financing for the microcredit sector, considering these to be the most efficient option available. This book presents a study of capacity building and structural funds in public managing authorities for the microcredit sector. It presents two surveys to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the managing authorities' capacity building. The first survey investigates the authorities' need for and interests in capacity building activities, assessing the areas in which capacity building support is needed, and explores the different types of support offered. The second survey analyses the results of the microcredit and microfinance programming activity, investigating its target groups and other operational features. It examines the key monitoring and reporting issues involved in this activity, before analysing the regulatory framework of the microcredit and microfinance sector. This book presents an in-depth analysis of structural funds and their management by policy-makers in the European convergence regions. It explores the interests of managing authorities, microcredit institutions, operators and other financial intermediaries involved in microcredit programming activities, and offers some core strategic and operational recommendations for the use of structural funds in the microcredit sector.

In recent years, the European Commission has attached increasing importance to the use of financial engineering instruments rather than traditional grant-based financing for the microcredit sector, considering these to be the most efficient option available. This book presents a study of capacity building and structural funds in public managing authorities for the microcredit sector. It presents two surveys to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the managing authorities' capacity building. The first survey investigates the authorities' need for and interests in capacity building activities, assessing the areas in which capacity building support is needed, and explores the different types of support offered. The second survey analyses the results of the microcredit and microfinance programming activity, investigating its target groups and other operational features. It examines the key monitoring and reporting issues involved in this activity, before analysing the regulatory framework of the microcredit and microfinance sector. This book presents an in-depth analysis of structural funds and their management by policy-makers in the European convergence regions. It explores the interests of managing authorities, microcredit institutions, operators and other financial intermediaries involved in microcredit programming activities, and offers some core strategic and operational recommendations for the use of structural funds in the microcredit sector.

An understanding of personal debt requires an understanding of the complex social systems that produce poverty. By drawing upon international perspectives, this book investigates why more and more people are in debt, why it is causing so much mental distress and exactly who is benefiting from what has become the world's number one growth industry.

This book explores the role of the rating system in creditworthiness assessment, looking into its current status, strengths and weaknesses and possible evolution in the light of Basel 3 and the Global Economic Crisis.