Ken Kapner

Millennials are the first generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and technology for their entire lives. They have done their homework on it, taken classes, and accessed all of their information through it. So, it is no stretch for millennials to search for and obtain their financial tools online. As this […]

The Multiplier Effect and GDP Growth I came across this table (see below) in a recent Wall Street Journal Blog (WSJ’s Daily Shot: America: Too Many Retirees, Not Enough Workers). Although the article isn’t about fiscal policy per se, I thought the reference to the multiplier effect—or, more specifically, the depiction of the impact of […]

Introduction to Counterparty Credit Risk The evolution of counterparty credit risk started with counterparty (credit) limits, settlement limits and exposure measurements such as potential future exposure. This progressed to the use of unilateral collateral, then the bilateral exchange of collateral. To assist in the pricing for the cost of dealing with a counterparty in a […]

Introduction to STACR and CAS Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now have issued numerous credit risk transfer notes in this ever evolving market. This article summarizes some of the highlights of the issues/securities called Structured Agency Credit Risk or STACR, which are issued by Freddie Mac, and Connecticut Avenue Securities or CAS, which are issued by Fannie Mae. Origin […]

The Federal Reserve Tools: Past and Present Pundits all seem to agree that, later this year, the Federal Reserve will finally raise rates. Some seem to think that will occur in June while others believe it will be September. Regardless of when it happens, now would be a good time to review how the Federal […]

What were the Reasons for the Subprime/Credit Crunch in 2008? There have been a plethora of reasons given by the media for what created the subprime/credit crunch crises. However, in speaking with people within the industry, as well as friends and family, it appears not everyone understands the various reasons culminating in the credit crunch […]

The financial crisis has brought about many changes to the global financial system. One of these changes are the clearing requirements implemented by the Dodd-Frank Act for over the counter (OTC) derivatives such as interest rate swaps. These complex requirements have also increased interest in interest rate swap futures as an alternative hedging instrument. Although […]

Since shortening the US equity cycle in 1995 from T+5 to T+3, there has been a continued analysis and positioning to further shortening the number of business days from trade to settlement. In October 2014, a total of 29 countries, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, the UK and Ireland shortened their settlement cycle […]

Winter may have been late in arriving for many of us, but we are already looking forward to Spring. With 20-25 inches of snow from #Snowzilla2016, it was a tremendous storm, but it was not tremendous enough to overwhelm our efforts to bring forth some new insights and courses for 2016. As developments continue to […]

As President and CEO of GFMI, I travel often and have the opportunity to hear questions from a variety of sources: asset managers, institutional investors, regulators, and bankers. One of the more frequent questions I hear is, “What’s the difference between CCAR and DFAST?” To help answer this question, one of GFMI’s regulatory experts, Rob […]

Here at Global Financial Markets Institute (GFMI) we’ve wrapped up the third quarter already and are preparing for the end-run of 2015. Already, our clients are planning budgets for 2016 and, in response, the team at GFMI are preparing our subject matter experts’ calendars for next year’s financial learning requests. In fact, we are seeing […]

In GFMI’s latest article, The Federal Reserve Tools: Past and Present, I touch upon a topic that might be familiar to some, yet still a mystery to others. It seemed a timely topic, since the Fed said in March 2015: “Economic growth moderated (some); there are improvements in the labor market (job growth, and lower […]