Review
—Tyler Cowen/ September 2009, http://www.marginalrevolution.com
"Should be required reading on Capitol Hill."
—Kevin Hall, McClatchy Newspapers
"Pozen’s book offers significantly more than a factual recitation of events leading up to and during the credit crisis. Beyond that, it offers a comprehensive framework for analysis and concrete proposals for appropriate regulatory responses. Broadly, Pozen’s aim is not – or not only – to tell the story of the crisis, but rather to analyze how the crisis can illuminate and inform the appropriate relationship between government and financial markets. Pozen describes specific regulatory innovations intended to keep pace with the speed and complexity of financial innovation. He offers, that is, the analysis sorely lacking in more journalistic accounts of the crisis. In that regard, his book is one of the few in the growing literature arising out of the crisis that should inform any serious discussion of new financial regulation."
—Alisa Greenstein, The Hedge Fund Law Report, October 2009
"Pozen seems to be right (or at least in broad agreement with me) the overwhelming majority of the time. And as you can also see, he makes a lot of recommendations, on everything from accounting standards to insurance regulation. Tyler Cowen is quite right to give the book a rave review."
—Felix Salmon, blogs.reuters.com/felix–salmon, November 2009
"This is a book for investors who want to understand the details of our financial landscape, and who also want to consider arguments on restricting mortgage–lending practices, whether financial derivatives and hedge funds should be regulated or the revival of loan securitization, among others." (SmartMoney, November 2009)
“There has not been a more timely and important book written this decade. … In summary, Too Big to Save is comprehensive, rigorous, and descriptive as well as prescriptive. The US economy is too important a global player to be ignored, and Pozen’s analysis in ‘Too Big Too Save’ is too important to not be read. This book is truly a gem and a strongly recommended read.”
—Sean Cameron, The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation ( http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov , November 2009
“The best finance book I′ve read so far this year (and I′ve read a slew of them) is Robert C. Pozen′s Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System. … I can′t think of anybody who has covered such a range of issues so efficiently or so well.” (Brad DeLong, ( http://delong.typepad.com, November 2009 "TOO BIG TO SAVE? asks and answers the questions weighing on every American′s mind...a highly readable and well–paced narrative...a valuable guide to a wide audience of readers, from American voters who felt disenfranchised by the events of September 2008 and are looking for an accessible resource to further inform their perspective, to professionals who seek a single source for an engaging account of the crisis and its implications for businesses today and tomorrow." "University economists are already teaching courses on the history of the financial crisis of 2008 and the policy responses that followed. Robert Pozen′s new book could become required reading." "To command the weary reviewer’s attention, any new book on the aberrations of the financial community has to have a clear focus and make a compelling case. In Too Big To Save? Robert Pozen, chairman of mutual fund group MFS Investment Management and a former vice–chairman of Fidelity Investments, pulls off the trick. … The story of excessive risk–taking and leverage is lucidly told and accessible to the layman, with good explanations of securitisation, toxic structured products and the global dimension of the crisis. The policy recommendations are thoughtful and mostly full of good sense." "The first thing one can see from the book is how much of a genius Robert Pozen is. He has a clear grasp on many complex issues facing the US and world economy. Too Big to Save? is probably the best book about financial reform written so far." "... thorough, intelligent and straightforward ..." "While there are many books on the financial crisis, too many of them say too much about what went wrong and not enough about how to fix the problem. Bob Pozen′s book Too Big to Save? (Wiley, 2009) breaks the mold. It not only analyzes the causes of the crisis with uncommon clarity, but also supplies a compelling road map for reform." "If you’re only going to read one book on the financial crisis, this should be the one."
—Elizabeth Leonard, Forbes.com, December 2009
—Ross Kerber, Reuters, December 2009
— John Plender, Financial Times, February 2010
—Jacob Wolinksy, GuruFocus.com, February 2010
—Jim McTague, Barron′s, March 2010
—Stephen J. Hadley, Harvard Business Review, March 2010
— Matthew Rees, The American, May 2010
Product Description
Industry luminary Robert Pozen offers his insights on the future of U.S. finance
The recent credit crisis and the resulting bailout program are unprecedented events in the financial industry. While it′s important to understand what got us here, it′s even more important to consider how we should get out. While there is little question that immediate action was required to stabilize the situation, it is now time to look for a long–term plan to reform the United States financial industry.
That is where Bob Pozen comes in. Perhaps more than anyone in the industry, Pozen commands the respect and attention of the public and private sector. In this timely guide, he outlines his vision for the new financial future and provides actionable advice along the way. To Pozen, there are four high–priority problems that must be addressed, and this book puts them in perspective
- Analyzes alternative models for government stakes in banks
- Recommends a new board structure for large financial institutions
- Examines the importance of broader Fed jurisdiction over systemic risks
- Proposes a way to revive the securitization of loans
With Too Big to Save, you′ll learn the likely future of the finance industry and understand why changes have to be made.
From the Inside Flap
Each chapter of this timely book analyzes the impact of the financial crisis on a major part of the U.S. financial system. Pozen first explains the globalization of the financial crisis through the sale of mortgagebacked securities around the world. He suggests how the securitization process should be reformed, including new approaches to credit rating agencies and credit default swaps.
Second, he assesses the impact of the financial crisis on the stock and bond markets. He criticizes the broad government guarantees of bank debt and money market funds, and calls for reinstating the incentives for large debt holders to scrutinize the condition of financial institutions.
Third, he evaluates the federal bailout of financial institutions by buying their stock and toxic assets. He shows how these bailouts constitute "one–way capitalism" whereby taxpayers bear most of the losses but stand to receive little of any potential gains.
Finally, he outlines what can and cannot be achieved realistically through international financial cooperation. For the United States, he proposes a concrete plan to address risks to the entire financial system and strengthen the functional regulation of each segment of the financial services industry.
Too Big to Save? will give you a sound framework to analyze the daily barrage of information about the financial crisis. It offers a blueprint for restoring the financial system without repeating the mistakes of the past.
From the Back Cover
"When Bob Pozen talks, people listen—with good reason. This book is full of wisdom about the flaws in our financial system that let the crisis develop and, more important, detailed prescriptions for fixing it. Read it. Then keep it on your desk as a reference."
—Alan S. Blinder, former vice chairman, Federal Reserve Board, and Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University
"In an era of specialized books about the financial crisis, Bob Pozen′s is a sparkling exception. In plain English, he explains to the intelligent reader how we got into this financial mess, assesses steps taken by government, and prescribes practical ways to prevent a future crisis. Bob Pozen is one of the nation′s most thoughtful and responsible financial leaders. If you are looking for one book to sort out the financial crisis, start here!"
—David Gergen, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School, and Senior Political Analyst, CNN
"This book is not only a detailed yet thoroughly lucid and accessible study of the financial crisis; it is also, and more important, the best critique I have seen of the government′s responses to the crisis and its recent blueprint for financial regulatory reform."
—Richard A. Posner, U.S. Circuit Judge and author of A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of ′08 and the Descent into Depression
Expert insights on the future of U.S. finance
Bob Pozen not only identifies the multiple factors causing the financial crisis, but also evaluates the governmental responses so far to this crisis and suggests what actions should be taken to prevent future crises. He focuses on four issues:
- Why revival of the loan securitization process isimportant to the American recovery
- How the Treasury should decide which financialinstitutions should be recapitalized
- Why mega banks need a much smaller and strongerboard of directors
- How the monitoring of systemic risks should be integratedwith an enhanced system of financial regulation
