OVERCOMING THE CRISIS

Summer 2009

by André Sapir

Beating the financial crisis means first and foremost restoring the health of the banking sector by sorting bad assets and recapitalising it. This is no longer an economic or financial problem but rather a political one because it demands decisions affecting the opposing interests of bank shareholders, bondholders and managers, to say nothing of taxpayers. In some instances the decision will be temporary bank nationalisations so as to protect the interest of taxpayers.

Preventing another crisis means strengthening macro-prudential supervision and regulation along the lines that had been suggested for many years by the Basle-based Bank for International Settlement (BIS), and more recently by the de Larosière Group’s report to the European Commission.

Further articles in this  OVERCOMING THE CRISIS section
Edmond Alphandéry	"It's up to Europe to set a global example of concertation"
Jerzy Buzek	"Let's return to the grassroots and base growth on savings and productivity"
Mark Eyskens	“My 10 point rulebook for the globalised economy”
Franz Fischler	“What we need first and foremost is a change in public consciousness”
Nicole Gnesotto	"We need a new global political deal now the West is no longer master of the world"
Béla Kádár	“To save the market economy and democracy, governance has to step in where corporations ruled and markets failed”
Noëlle Lenoir	"My five courses of action"
John Monks	“The financial markets are where the re-building must start”
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen	"The EU must pull its weight and demonstrate real leadership"
Klaus Regling	“Better regulation and supervision, and the greater legitimacy of international financial institutions”
Onno Ruding	“Implement de Larosière and then consider further reform”
André Sapir	"Restoring the health of banking is no longer a financial problem but a political one"
Tøger Seidenfaden	“We urgently need much stronger international institutions"
Constantine Simitis	“Fiscal stimuli, yes. But social goals are also crucial”
Loukas Tsoukalis	"To be a major player on the new global architecture, Europe must end its IMF over-representation"
Alvaro de Vasconcelos	"Now it's the West that needs the Rest"
George Vassiliou	"How to beat this crisis and head-off another"
Nicolas Véron	“Institutional innovation, not streamlining, is today’s priority”
Stephen Wall	“We need a eurozone regulatory structure, and if Britain wants a role it must manage its eurozone entry”
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