A technocrat's thoughtful, informative assessment of the varied
factors that brought America's savings-and-loan associations to
costly grief. Where other annalists have focused on the venal
buccaneers whose predations became a public scandal, Lowy, an
attorney, offers a back-to-basics rundown on the deep-rooted
origins of a convulsive crisis. In the process, he dismisses
easy-answer notions that either fraud or junk bonds were primary
causes of the S&L industry's perdurable problems, and documents
just why it is "the boom, not the bust, that does the damage." He
also makes a strong case for the proposition that regulatory
accounting rules designed to help troubled associations weather
interest-rate storms had the unintended consequence of encouraging
risky lending practices. And Lowy does not shy from assigning blame
for the thrift crackup, casting a cold eye on Capitol Hill. Among
other shortcomings, the author says, Congress refused to accept the
reality that deposit insurance without effective oversight is a
recipe for disaster. Nor do accommodating auditors escape
unscathed. As a practical matter, Lowy charges, they've largely
failed to provide an accurate count on the financial condition of
thrift institutions. His own proposal for reform of an industry
whose recovery prospects he views as bleak at best center on
apolitical simplification of the regulatory system's complexities.
Given the fact that even solvent operators resist big budgets for
agencies empowered to liquidate them, however, the author's
recommendations look like candidates for early retirement. A savvy,
low-key primer that earns top marks as a thinking person's analytic
guide to the making of a fiscal quagmire. (Kirkus Reviews)
Lowy avoids the easy answers, like blaming it on fraud and
greed, and explains how something of this magnitude could occur
under the noses of those who should have protected the
taxpayer.
"Paul M. Horvitz, University of Houston"
Market forces, not scoundrels, destroyed the savings and loan
business. So says Martin Lowy in what is truly an inside look at
the savings and loan crisis. Drawing upon his experience as a
practicing attorney, bank officer, and savings and loan director,
Lowy provides an expert account of the problems that have
overwhelmed the nation's savings institutions and their government
regulators.
"High RollerS" is the first book on the S&L crisis that
provides an analytical groundwork for technical and nontechnical
readers--so that both can comprehend what happened. Lowy's clear,
readable style allows him to quickly describe the origins of the
problems in new market forces and new technologies, and how the
problems grew out of control as a result of regulatory mistakes and
congressional inaction. Even his discussions of real estate lending
practices and accounting issues are, in the words of Professor
Horvitz, both clear to the novice and instructive to the
professional.
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