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Bloomberg – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said American International Group Inc. operated like a hedge fund and having to rescue the insurer made him “more angry” than any other episode during the financial crisis.
“If there is a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can’t think of one other than AIG,” Bernanke told lawmakers today. “AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system, there was no oversight of the financial- products division, this was a hedge fund basically that was attached to a large and stable insurance company.”
Bernanke’s comments foreshadow tougher oversight of systemically important financial firms, and come as President Barack Obama seeks legislative proposals within weeks for a regulatory overhaul. The U.S. government has had to deepen its commitment to prevent AIG’s collapse three times since September as the company accumulated the worst losses of any U.S. company.
The company “made huge numbers of irresponsible bets, took huge losses, there was no regulatory oversight because there was a gap in the system,” Bernanke said. At the same time, officials “had no choice but to try and stabilize the system” by aiding the firm.
AIG is getting as much as $30 billion in new government capital and relaxed terms on its bailout announced yesterday.
In another sign of tighter regulation to come, Bernanke said supervisors should have authority to bar new financial products that may be destabilizing to markets.
Bernanke made the AIG comments in response to a question from Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, at a Senate Budget Committee hearing today in Washington.
U.S. News & World Report – Andrew Lo, hedge fund manager and director of MIT’s Laboratory for Financial Engineering, is a long-time student of investor behavior, especially the sort that belies the notion that markets move with cool efficiency. Particularly today, he sees animal spirits lurching about in some worrisome ways that could have long-term consequences for markets and the economy. "The big message is that right now all, of us are in a state of emotional shell-shock," he says. That goes for investors, regulators, bankers, and anyone else unlucky enough to get caught up in the fear and uncertainty flowing through the current financial crisis.
In this two-part Q&A with U.S. News, Prof. Lo discusses the best way to build a robust regulatory system for the financial sector (part one is here.) Below, he considers what massive changes in the investment landscape over the past few years might mean for your investments:
International Herald Tribune – Two senior senators have introduced legislation to impose U.S. government oversight on hedge funds.
The legislation by Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat of Michigan, and Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican of Iowa, was filed Thursday while the administration of President Barack Obama prepared a broader legislative overhaul of the regulatory system, including an effort to regulate hedge funds more tightly.
State regulators and a panel created by Congress to oversee the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program issued separate but similar regulatory proposals Thursday. The proposals also seemed to mirror closely many of the provisions that administration officials say will be part of their plan.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Two senators are pushing for greater regulation of hedge funds, introducing legislation that would call on the U.S. government to oversee them.
Michigan Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat, and Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican, passed the legislation on Thursday, amidst a much broader attempt by President Barack Obama to vamp up the entire regulatory system. It also comes at a time when the administration is still in talks over how to distribute the remaining $350 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
“We need to regulate firms that are big enough to destabilize our economy if they fail," said Levin. "It’s time to subject financial heavyweights like hedge funds to federal regulation and oversight to protect our investors, markets and financial system."
The overhaul of the regulatory system is intended to restore faith in an economy that has been shaken by fear. In addition to tighter regulation of hedge funds, the broader plan will include greater oversight of mortgage lenders and credit rating agencies.
Regulation of hedge funds has long been a debate in the financial world. While some push for greater transparency, hedge funds have taken the defensive, saying that they provide plenty of transparency to their clients, with performance reports and other data usually available via a secure website. However, the collapse of many major hedge funds along with the handful of fraud cases has forced the government to try again.
The closest that hedge funds have come to regulation was when they were required to register as investment advisors with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That requirement was overturned in 2006.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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All Headline News – Hedge funds will require registering under a new proposal to regulate the market segment that lost $600 billion in 2008 due to financial crisis, an all time record.
Under the bill by two senators today would lead to the regulation of hedge funds by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a step that is considered to protect investors and prevent the U.S. financial system from further sinking into the recession.
The Hedge Fund Transparency Act, sponsored by Senator Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), was filed on Thursday amid the new administration’s initiative to overhaul some legislation of the regulatory system.
