Thread: Bank of International Settlements Predicted Economic Crisis

William White of the Bank of International Settlements Predicted the Economic Crisis

Written by Steven Yates
Wednesday, 12 August 2009 11:00

Who is William White? The name is bound to be less familiar than that of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, but they are in similar lines of work. In answer: White was one of the few economists who grew uneasy with the “irrational exuberanceâ€

White is now being listened to. But he is overlooking the fact that it would be unnecessary to "manage" and "prevent" crises if central bankers would step back and let the free market control financial activities (financial institutions should set lending rates based on the amount of risk associated with lending the money) — the bubbles then would be unlikely to occur in the first place.

Cute! Free markets controlling their risk is what created this crisis in the first place. Their greed usurped rationality. It used to be one had to put down at least 10 percent for any hope of a mortgage, and at least 20 percent to avoid PMI payments. Then banks were deregulated, and floated in a free market where they relied on the cleverest and most highly paid employees to invest nifty products for instant profits.
And that is only the real estate bubble I am talking about. Commercial loans are already faltering and the credit card mess, while not doing a dang thing with stimulus dollars (our money) to loan the money out to people worthy of credit.
Central bankers should not step back, nor should any regulatory agency.