Even after the ruinous financial crisis of 2008, America is still beset by the depredations of an oligarchy that is now bigger, more profitable, an...
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Nov 04, 2011
Leo
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Is the American form of government a democracy and secondarily, is the economic system a market capitalist one?
According to the authors of 13 bankers the answer to both questions is a resounding, "No!" Kwak and Johnson are well known in financial circles for their highly influential blog, the Baseline Scenario. The authors clearly detail the causes behind the global financial credit crisis which has persisted since 2008. To the authors, the primary reason for the crisis More...
According to the authors of 13 bankers the answer to both questions is a resounding, "No!" Kwak and Johnson are well known in financial circles for their highly influential blog, the Baseline Scenario. The authors clearly detail the causes behind the global financial credit crisis which has persisted since 2008. To the authors, the primary reason for the crisis More...
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Jun 04, 2011
Converse
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I don't know why I keep reading about the financial crisis of 2008, it just makes me angry. Anyway, this is a one of the several good books I've read on the subject. It has a longer term focus than some, including a section on the history of banking in the United Staes since the founding of the republic, and doesn't give a blow by blow description of what happened in the week that Lehman brothers failed. Rather, it is more about how the banks and the regulatory system got into this fix in th
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Sep 22, 2011
Douglas
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While I think this book is a good history of the regulation changes that occurred in banking from the mid to late 90s, I do not think this book does that great a job explaining the recent banking crisis. The authors clearly believe that the changes in regulation and lax regulators caused the crisis and that better/stronger regulation would fix it. They however fail to explain how if the regulators are so co-opted by the big banks that regulation on its own will work. I also feel that the authors
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Jul 25, 2011
Brian
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One of the best I've read to explain the backround of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and offer general ideas for fixing the financial sector to avoid the inevitable crisis that will happen again if there is no bona fide fix. Unfortunately the large banks have gotten bigger since the crisis and the authors contend that the problems are compounded by this increased size and the systemic risk they pose.
The authors draw parallels with the banking oligarchies of emerging markets. Their pow More...
The authors draw parallels with the banking oligarchies of emerging markets. Their pow More...
Apr 03, 2011
Brian
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One of the most scholarly books on the financial crisis, Johnson and Kwak reference nearly every sentence in the book. This puts a flavor of simply documenting a series of pieces of information behind the book, rather than telling a compelling story. The information is good, though I can’t imagine reading it as the first and/or only book on the financial crisis. They do an excellent job of stating the fact that this challenge of large banks in America is not original; they cite at least three
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May 04, 2010
Kathy
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The authors' basic premise in this book is that the only way to prevent future financial crisis is to downsize banks that are too big to fail. They describe the history of banking in the US concentrating on the presidencies of Jefferson, Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. The authors see the big banks as oligarchies with enormous political power. (Surprise, I laugh.) The book was tedious reading at times and I'm glad ther
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Apr 30, 2010
Tommy
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This book was terrific overview of the history of the US financial system going back to Hamilton and Jefferson and goes in depth to describe how we got where we are. Simon and James do an amazing job of diagnosing the problems.
They contend that too big to fail banks simultaneously pose too much systemic to the economy AND have too much political sway to make effective regulation and oversight possible. This is very much in line with the views of Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz a More...
They contend that too big to fail banks simultaneously pose too much systemic to the economy AND have too much political sway to make effective regulation and oversight possible. This is very much in line with the views of Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz a More...
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Jan 12, 2012
Brian
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Well worth reading if you are interested in the changes in the political ideology and financial firms' power that caused the economic meltdown in 2008/2009.
The authors draw convincing parallels to the oligarchic distortions in emerging market crises that occurred during the past 20 years and the financial crisis we experienced. The way they were handled by the IMF and World Bank (on the insistence of the US) was vastly different than the taxpayer funded bailouts that happened in th More...
The authors draw convincing parallels to the oligarchic distortions in emerging market crises that occurred during the past 20 years and the financial crisis we experienced. The way they were handled by the IMF and World Bank (on the insistence of the US) was vastly different than the taxpayer funded bailouts that happened in th More...
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Dec 28, 2011
JDK1962
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Excellent overview of how we got to where we are. I don't think the proposed solution will go anywhere (i.e., "too big to fail" is too big), due to the political capture issues also discussed, but I like the emphasis on "we need to start talking about this sensibly and figure out a solution," rather than some sort of ideological rant on why solution X is the only possible solution and everyone else is stupid for not agreeing.
On that note, I also think that any revie More...
On that note, I also think that any revie More...
May 05, 2010
Lynn
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Before opening the book I knew what I was getting into. The two authors were guests on Bill Moyers and I chalked up their more blatant biases as deference to Moyers. It was unlikely that I would find a fair account of the financial crisis, but I hoped to obtain a clear understanding for the reasons why most of the blame should be placed on Wall Street. I did obtain a clear understanding of the thought processes of the authors, but they were not clear or honest when supporting their beliefs ab
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Jun 21, 2010
Raghu
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This is the best book I have read on the recent financial crisis of 2008. The authors present a historical study of how and why it happened and show why it will happen again if the US govt does not go through with breaking up financial institutions which are 'too big to fail'. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have allowed the big banks to remain BIG thereby allowing them to bring the world economy into crisis again by taking the extraordinary risks that they took to get us there in the fi
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Jun 01, 2010
Ralph
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Extraordinarily important discussion of the need to reduce the influence and size of the Too-Big-To-Fail banks (including investment banks). Today America stands in potential peril. If such banks fail, America's financial well-being could collapse.
An excellent overview of the problem by surving the financial crisis of 2008-2010, with backgrown information all the back to the 1980s.
The book is neither a wild-eyed polemic nor a Jeremiad: it is a reasoned and reasonable dis More...
An excellent overview of the problem by surving the financial crisis of 2008-2010, with backgrown information all the back to the 1980s.
The book is neither a wild-eyed polemic nor a Jeremiad: it is a reasoned and reasonable dis More...
Apr 26, 2010
getAbstract
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A gripping description of the end of “too-big-to-fail”
This intriguing study concludes that for all the talk of a new world order after the devastating 2007-2009 financial collapse, Wall Street looks remarkably the same. Money and power are concentrated in fewer hands, but the Street’s fundamental philosophy, favoring light regulation and markets dominated by a few huge banks, survives. In this eye-opening account, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Simon More...
This intriguing study concludes that for all the talk of a new world order after the devastating 2007-2009 financial collapse, Wall Street looks remarkably the same. Money and power are concentrated in fewer hands, but the Street’s fundamental philosophy, favoring light regulation and markets dominated by a few huge banks, survives. In this eye-opening account, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Simon More...
Jun 03, 2010
Steve
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What happens when free market true believers meet predatory bankers? Financial oligarchy, says Former IMF economist Simon Johnson and that describes the USA today. For example, how many high-level government officials are former Goldman Sachs people? Lots. And if the government officals aren’t Wall Street insiders, they are free market ideologues. Take Alan Greenspan for example. He was apparently so convinced that markets could regulate themselves that he believed rules against fraud were
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Nov 17, 2011
Liam
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"But while Hamilton may have been right about the economics, that was not Jefferson's primary concern. His fear of large financial institutions had nothing to do with the efficient allocation of capital and everything to do with power." (17)
"According to one leading banking textbook, 'some banks frowned on employees working in their offices after hours lest outsides perceive lighted windows as a sign of trouble.'" (35)
"Finance professor Edward Ka More...
"According to one leading banking textbook, 'some banks frowned on employees working in their offices after hours lest outsides perceive lighted windows as a sign of trouble.'" (35)
"Finance professor Edward Ka More...
May 15, 2010
Chris
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Good synopsis of the 2008 financial collapse, and excellent summary of why "Too big to fail" is really "too big to exist." Really interesting to read how the financial industry in the US mirrors emerging markets in places we don't consider financially stable. The writing itself gets a little dry in places, and some of the discussions of the complex financial products that led to the crash are a little technical to the lay reader, but that's kind of the point: the products the
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Jul 16, 2011
Paul
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There was quite a bit to really love about this book. The authors do a great job of examining the causes behind the 2008 financial collapse - from identifying the policies and political philosophy that shaped the regulatory environment of the past 20-30 years, to describing the actual financial "innovations" and products that increased risk to unsustainable levels.
What I found particularly enlightening were the authors proposals to prevent a similar crisis going forward, and add More...
What I found particularly enlightening were the authors proposals to prevent a similar crisis going forward, and add More...
Jul 23, 2010
Greg
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From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2010/07/...
I read Simon Johnson and James Kwak's 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, which is a very good, albeit repetitive (in the sense that they repeat certain points over and over), overview of the 2008 economic crash, focusing on the problem of having a small number of financial institutions that are "too big to fail." It is not a fun read, particularly since the recently passed financial reform ad More...
I read Simon Johnson and James Kwak's 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, which is a very good, albeit repetitive (in the sense that they repeat certain points over and over), overview of the 2008 economic crash, focusing on the problem of having a small number of financial institutions that are "too big to fail." It is not a fun read, particularly since the recently passed financial reform ad More...
Aug 23, 2010
Stuart
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This book is too cursory to be a solid examination of our country's problems with the banking industry, but it is clear, well written and straightforward. There isn't that much nuance in the message given that banks need to be tightly regulated and restrained from getting too big. I happen to agree with that thesis, but think that a better, more thoughtful book could have resulted from all the work the authors put in here.
13 Bankers is a quick read that shows how we got to where we More...
13 Bankers is a quick read that shows how we got to where we More...
Jan 30, 2011
Elaine
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Some things that I bookmarked while reading:
"the core function of finance is financial intermediation -- moving money from a place where it is currently not needed to a place where it is needed. The key questions for for any financial innovation are whether it increases financial intermediation and whether that is a good thing." (continues to talk about "innovations" in credit cards mostly being ways of making pricing more complex)
"much of the pos More...
"the core function of finance is financial intermediation -- moving money from a place where it is currently not needed to a place where it is needed. The key questions for for any financial innovation are whether it increases financial intermediation and whether that is a good thing." (continues to talk about "innovations" in credit cards mostly being ways of making pricing more complex)
"much of the pos More...
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Jun 05, 2010
Frank
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Although I do not agree with some of the suggested solutions for the financial problems in our country, I agree with the sentiment of the book, that Too Big To Fail is Too Big. This book is well worth reading. Its identification of the history and problems of Wall Street is, I think, very accurate.
I would rather have allowed the big investment banks, like Goldman Sachs, to fail, whereas the authors think that regulatory law should be modified to not allow such entities to own assets More...
I would rather have allowed the big investment banks, like Goldman Sachs, to fail, whereas the authors think that regulatory law should be modified to not allow such entities to own assets More...
May 04, 2010
Alex
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This is the best book describing the ongoing financial and regulatory capture in the developed world.
While the partisans scream about socialism and other non sequitur pseudo-economic arguments, the crisis is actually continuing and deepening behind the illusion of another asset bubble courtesy of incredible monetary easing.
The author is more optimistic than me, despite a shared view that deregulation has led to widespread financial fraud throughout the economy- although f More...
While the partisans scream about socialism and other non sequitur pseudo-economic arguments, the crisis is actually continuing and deepening behind the illusion of another asset bubble courtesy of incredible monetary easing.
The author is more optimistic than me, despite a shared view that deregulation has led to widespread financial fraud throughout the economy- although f More...
Aug 14, 2011
Ilya
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This book argues that the late 2000s financial crisis was caused by a lack of government regulation, which was caused by the financial industry's excessive political power, which was caused by the consolidation of the industry since the 1980s. When in 1998 the chair of Commodity Futures Trading Commission decided to increase the regulation of derivatives, she got a phone call from Lawrence Summers, then Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, who said, "I have 13 bankers in my office, and they sa
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Aug 03, 2010
Bimus
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Well written book by economists of the academic and professionally experienced type with an eye to the financial crisis of 2007-09+. If you want an explanation of the playing field and some detail of how powerful banks have become and tools of that trade -- if you haven't lost your house yet this won't be so painful, then this is a good start. Not a whole lot of fancy technical stuff but there is a need for the reader to be aware that the situation does have technical financial aspects -- Mortga
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Jul 18, 2010
Andrew
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A decent read, though not earthshaking if you have read much else in this genre. For instance, the author mentions trader-turned-law-professor Frank Partnoy and one of his works on the subject - the ground-breaking FIASCO, Blood in the Water - where Partnoy surfaces the use of the phrase "ripping his face off" when it came to traders burning clients and making huge piles of cash while doing it, and does some of the first modern-day muckraking around derivatives and those who profit fro
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Nov 05, 2010
Diane
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Excellent primer for where money comes from that fuels the economy. Did you know your paycheck doesn't exactly come from your employer, it comes from the commercial paper companies use for day to day cash flow? Which is based on money market funds. Meaning bad things happening in the money markets impacts your employer's ability to make payroll. Details like this inform the reader of why the crisis of the 13 largest US banks impacted the real day to day economy. Its not just all big picture
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Dec 14, 2010
Jackie
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13 Bankers presents a succinct and compelling overview of the current U.S. financial system and what went wrong to lead up to the economic crisis in 2008. I don't have a strong background in fiscal policy, but I understood every issue discussed in this book and couldn't wait to come home and read it at the end of each day.
Kwak and Johnson draw a line from Jefferson & Adams' philosophies on government banking to current ideologies embedded in the American system. They portray Wall Str More...
Kwak and Johnson draw a line from Jefferson & Adams' philosophies on government banking to current ideologies embedded in the American system. They portray Wall Str More...
Jul 27, 2010
Max
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There are a lot of reasons to care about -- and be angry about -- America's outsized banking sector. A short list might have include:
- financial bubbles, moral hazard, systemic risk
- massive misallocation of talent
- rising social and economic inequity and the gutting of the middle class
- a new golden age of greedy self-regard, the 1980s till now
This is all quite right, more or less -- but 13 Bankers suggests that there is more: a financial sector that' More...
- financial bubbles, moral hazard, systemic risk
- massive misallocation of talent
- rising social and economic inequity and the gutting of the middle class
- a new golden age of greedy self-regard, the 1980s till now
This is all quite right, more or less -- but 13 Bankers suggests that there is more: a financial sector that' More...
Oct 29, 2011
Lobstergirl
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This is a superb explanation of how the supremacy of Wall Street, and its cosiness to Washington, helped cause the financial crisis, and made true reform afterward much more difficult. Johnson and Kwak go back as far as Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson to examine the nexus of politics and banking. They explain why bankers and politicians are so close, and why politicians always seem to bend to the will of the banksters: it's not just about campaign contributions (traditional capital), or th
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