Category Archives: Financial Markets and Institutions

Financial Regulatory Structure (podcast)

Posted on March 31, 2016 by WatchBlog

Over the past 150 years, the U.S. financial regulatory structure has evolved in response to various financial crises and to keep pace with financial markets themselves as they advanced from tickertape to e-trading and beyond. As you can see, the … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on March 31, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged Dodd-Frank, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, FDIC, financial regs, Financial Stability Oversight Council, FMCI, FSOC, FTC, insurance, Lawrance Evans, Office of Financial Research, OFR, SEC, securities, Securities and Exchange Commission

Ending “Too Big to Fail”

Posted on March 29, 2016 by WatchBlog

8 years ago this month, the Federal Reserve bailed out Bear Stearns, preventing it from collapsing. This triggered an unprecedented amount of federal assistance to help stabilize markets—more than $1 trillion in loans and hundreds of billions of dollars of … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on March 29, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged bank regulations, banking, Dodd-Frank, economic recovery, FMCI, Recovery, TBTF, Wall Street

A Seat in the Boardroom

Posted on March 8, 2016 by WatchBlog

Women’s history month is not only a time to celebrate women’s accomplishments, but also a time to reflect on their progress, particularly in positions of leadership. In honor of International Women’s Day, today’s WatchBlog examines the representation of women on … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on March 8, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged diversity, equality, EWIS, inclusion, International Women's Day, leaders, leadership, Pledge for Parity, women's history month

Debt Limit 101

Posted on November 9, 2015 by WatchBlog

Congress has voted to suspend the debt limit through March 15, 2017. But how could future lawmakers address this issue in order to save the federal government money and avoid future disruptions? Today’s WatchBlog examines the debt limit. What is … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on November 9, 2015 by WatchBlog | Tagged debt, debt ceiling, Debt limit, Department of the Treasury, government spending, national debt, SI, Treasury | 1 Comment

5 Years of Dodd-Frank

Posted on July 20, 2015 by WatchBlog

It’s been 5 years since Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act reforming the U.S. financial regulatory system. Since then, we’ve been busy examining almost every aspect of this law and its impacts. Today’s WatchBlog shares a few of our regulatory lessons … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on July 20, 2015 by WatchBlog | Tagged banking, Dodd-Frank, economic crisis, finance, financial crisis, financial markets, financial regulation, FMCI, lessons learned, non-banks, Orice Williams Brown | 1 Comment

Podcast on Debt Limit Approaches

Posted on July 10, 2015 by WatchBlog

The debt limit is a cap on the amount of money that the Department of the Treasury can borrow to meet the nation’s financial obligations. Delays in raising this statutory limit can have broad implications for the entire financial system.

Image | Posted on July 10, 2015 by WatchBlog | Tagged Debt limit, debt limit options, SI, Treasury, Treasury Department

Understanding the Housing Finance System

Posted on January 29, 2015 by gao_watchblog

The housing finance market is more than just homebuyers, sellers, and real estate agents—it’s a complicated landscape of borrowers, lenders, securitizers, servicers, and investors. The complexity of housing finance played a major role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and poses … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on January 29, 2015 by gao_watchblog | Tagged bubble, financial crisis, FMCI, foreclosure, housing finance, housing market, mortgage, origination, securitization, servicing, termination | 1 Comment

Podcast on Disaster Loans to Small Businesses Following Hurricane Sandy

Posted on October 24, 2014 by gao_watchblog

On October 29th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall, causing an estimated $65 billion in property damage. In the wake of the storm, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provided physical and economic injury disaster loans to help businesses and individual homeowners … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on October 24, 2014 by gao_watchblog | Tagged delays, disaster, disaster assistance, Disaster Loan Program, FMCI, GAO, government accountability office, Hurricane Sandy, loans, New Jersey, New York, podcast, SBA, small business, Small Business Administration, Superstorm Sandy, timeliness, usgao

GAO’s Financial Markets and Community Investment Team

Posted on August 19, 2014 by gao_watchblog

GAO’s workforce is generally organized into 14 mission teams. Today we’ll be putting the spotlight on the Financial Markets and Community Investment (FMCI) team. FMCI supports Congress by helping ensure the effectiveness of regulatory oversight in financial and housing markets, … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on August 19, 2014 by gao_watchblog | Tagged CFPB, college debit cards, community investment, consumer protection, credit, debit cards, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Economic Development Administration, finance, financial institutions, financial markets, FMCI, housing, HUD, impact, mission team, Small Business Administration | 3 Comments

Podcast on Expectations of Government Support for Large Bank Holding Companies

Posted on July 31, 2014 by gao_watchblog

The perception among investors and credit agencies that a bank is “too big to fail” may affect how that bank’s holding company competes in financial markets. Hear our podcast with Lawrance Evans, Jr., a director in GAO’s Financial Markets and … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on July 31, 2014 by gao_watchblog | Tagged bank, banking, bonds, finance, financing, FMCI, GAO, government accountability office, holding companies, large bank holding companies, podcast, subsidy, too big to fail, usgao