The guidance notes: "Through [a sound method of allocating internal funding], a firm can transfer these risks to a central management function that can take advantage of natural offsets, centralized hedging activities, and a broader view of the firm." The irony of the wording is that current financial regulation often forces firms to segment their operations, including funding, in wholly irrational ways in order to conform them to the regulatory structure. Divisions between…

It is good that elected representatives are thinking about giving relief to the overly regulated in the financial system. However, the relief offered in this bill moves us in the wrong direction. Here are a few reasons: (i) offering conditional relief is based on the false premise that traditional banking activities, such as mortgage lending, are inherently safer than other financial activities (when likely the opposite is true), (ii) conditional regulatory relief would make it impossible…

This is at least the second time that Senator Warren publicly launched a personal attack against an academic who has taken a position with which the Senator disagrees. In both cases, the Senator asserted that the academics withheld information about their beliefs or funding. Her assertions rest on uncertain ground. (See the Senator's attack on Professor Robert Litan in this; see also Mr. Pirrong's  on his blog, . These broadsides are in addition to…

The suggestion that the "culture" of some firms may be flawed or even inferior to that of others is an instance of microaggression that seems remarkably blatant. That FINRA would deliver such a twinge-making tenet in an examination letter without first providing a trigger warning, or at least allowing firms to opt out, demonstrates that the SRO culture remains paternal and hierarchical.

Firms should make clear to FINRA that (i) they do not encourage the wearing of white after Labor…