For decades, William Isaac’s insights on the U.S. financial system have been featured in leading news publications. Now, you can browse them all in one location.

MEDIA COVERAGE

in leading business publications

September 17, 2010

No Longer in the Driver’s Seat

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No Longer in the Driver’s Seat

September 17, 2010

By Steve Forbes, Editor-In-Chief at Forbes

Here’s good news for investors and the economy. To everyone’s surprise Robert Herz stepped down as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board last month. Herz was the driver behind the disastrous 2007 FASB ruling concerning mark-to-market accounting for banks and insurance companies. The ruling unnecessarily destroyed some $500 billion in regulatory capital of these institutions in 2008–09, thereby triggering the financial panic. Once Congress forced FASB and the SEC to amend the ruling in April 2009, the devastated financial markets began a big rally that lasted until this summer.

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September 16, 2010

The Government Has Destroyed Business Confidence, Former FDIC Boss Isaac Says–But Help Is On The Way

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The Government Has Destroyed Business Confidence, Former FDIC Boss Isaac Says–But Help Is On The Way

September 16, 2010

by Henry Blodget for Yahoo Finance

The massive Wall Street bailout in the financial crisis was justified on the grounds that banks had to be saved so they could keep lending to the “real economy.”

Unfortunately, despite the bailout, the “real economy” has been clobbered–in part because bank lending has fallen off a cliff.

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September 15, 2010

2 Years After Lehman: How Govt. Turned “Manageable Crisis Into Full-Blown Panic”

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2 Years After Lehman: How Govt. Turned “Manageable Crisis Into Full-Blown Panic”

September 15, 2010

by Aaron Task for Yahoo Finance

The two-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy has prompted widespread discussion of the causes of the crisis and its aftermath.

William Isaac, former FDIC chairman and current chairman of Fifth Third Bancorp, believes “20 years of bad policy” and lax risk management on Wall Street laid the groundwork for the crisis of 2008. Most observers would agree with that.

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September 15, 2010

Washington Wasted Crisis With “Terrible Bills” and No Fixes, Says Former FDIC Chair

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Washington Wasted Crisis With “Terrible Bills” and No Fixes, Says Former FDIC Chair

September 15, 2010

by Peter Gorenstein for Yahoo Finance

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel once said the administration “should never let a serious crisis go to waste.” But that’s exactly what they’ve done, says former FDIC chairman William Isaac.

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September 13, 2010

Was the Great Panic of 2008 preventable?

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Was the Great Panic of 2008 preventable?

September 13, 2010

By Robert J. Samuelson for The Washington Post

It’s been two years since Lehman Brothers failed (Sept. 15, 2008), and we still can’t conclusively answer this question: What if the government had saved Lehman? Its bankruptcy was pivotal. Until then, deteriorating housing and mortgage markets had triggered what seemed a serious — but not unprecedented — recession. Once Lehman failed, the economy went into a frenzied free fall. It’s hard not to wonder whether some of the ensuing turmoil could have been avoided.

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September 7, 2010

University of Cincinnati College of Business Welcomes Financial Expert

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University of Cincinnati College of Business Welcomes Financial Expert

September 7, 2010

By Lisa Groh for the University of Cincinnati College of Business

On September 23, 2010, the Department of Finance and Real Estate at the University of Cincinnati College of Business will host a talk by financial expert William Isaac. Isaac will speak to a select audience about financial reform and his book, Senseless Panic: How Washington Failed America. In Senseless Panic, Isaac provides an inside account of the banking and S&L crises of the 1980s. He compares that period to the financial crisis of 2008 and recommends sweeping regulatory reforms to prevent future crises. Isaac has donated 200 copies of the book for use by College of Business students.

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September 3, 2010

Banks Boost Yield Through FDIC Auctions

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Banks Boost Yield Through FDIC Auctions

September 3, 2010

By Lauren Tara LaCapra for The Street

Though banks have been facing more and more pressure to originate fresh loans to consumers and small businesses, they don’t really have to yet – they’re growing loan books through Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. auctions instead.

The bidding wars for failed bank assets have heated up over the past few months, a result of the low interest-rate environment and the enormous amount of capital sloshing around the banking industry. This is a great development for banks and for the FDIC, but not such a great thing for economic growth.

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September 3, 2010

Isaac: Banking on consolidation

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Isaac: Banking on consolidation

September 3, 2010

By Michael Rudnick for The Deal Magazine

William Isaac, 66, who sat squarely in the eye of the savings and loan storm as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. from 1981 to 1985, observed the most recent meltdown from a more comfortable perch as chairman of financial services consulting firm LECG Global Financial Services. He also assumed the role of chairman of Fifth Third Bancorp earlier this year.

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August 31, 2010

The Dodd-Frank Act: Creative Destruction, Destroyed

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The Dodd-Frank Act: Creative Destruction, Destroyed

August 31, 2010

By Peter Wallison for The Wall Street Journal

From the American Enterprise Institute

The dominant theme of the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is fear of instability and change, which the act suppresses by subjecting the largest financial firms to banklike regulation. The competitiveness, innovativeness, and risk taking that have always characterized U.S. financial firms will, under this new structure, inevitably be subordinated to supervisory judgments about what these firms can safely be allowed to do.

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