Financial Regulatory Forum

    NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s bailout of the financial system is expected to cost $89 billion, much lower than earlier projections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing Treasury Department officials. (more…)

    By David Lawder
   WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s $700 billion bailout program helped stabilize the financial system, but has done little to boost lending or stave off millions of home foreclosures, a government watchdog group said on Wednesday. (more…)

    LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) – The British government could face trade sanctions if it is found guilty of protectionism as a result of the bank bail out, Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organisation, told the Sunday Telegraph. (more…)

   BRUSSELS, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Plans by three major European banks to sell chunks of their operations in return for state aid were approved by EU authorities on Wednesday, marking the latest regulatory-enforced financial break-ups. (more…)

   By Huw Jones and Eva Kuehnen
   LONDON/FRANKFURT, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Big banks stepped up warnings on Tuesday that tightening capital rules too soon could stall economic recovery, but policymakers said the bailed out sector cannot rely on taxpayers again in future. (more…)

   LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Contingent capital could provide a useful form of “catastrophe insurance” for the banking sector if adopted widely, Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said on Monday.
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COLUMN-Beware the bull market in derivatives: Matthew Goldstein
– Matthew Goldstein is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own – 
   By Matthew Goldstein
   NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) – The Dow is near 10,000 again. The business press is full of stories about the resurgence in mergers, IPOs and even so-called blank check companies.
   There’s one statistic, however, that should give investors pause: the growth in the total dollar value of derivative contracts at the top too-big-to-fail banks in the United States. (more…)