Long-Term Capital Management: Regulators Need to Focus Greater Attention on Systemic Risk

GGD-00-3 Published: Oct 29, 1999. Publicly Released: Nov 19, 1999.

Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) funds, focusing on: (1) how LTCM's positions became large and leveraged enough to be deemed a potential systemic threat; (2) what federal regulators knew about LTCM and when they found out about its problems; (3) what the extent of coordination among regulators was; and (4) whether regulatory authority limits regulators' ability to identify and mitigate potential systemic risk.

Recommendations

Matter for Congressional Consideration

Matter	Status	Comments
In an effort to identify and prevent future crises, Congress should consider providing SEC and CFTC with the authority to regulate the activities of securities and futures firms' affiliates similar to that provided the Federal Reserve with respect to bank holding companies. If this authority is provided, it should generally include the authority to examine, set capital standards, and take enforcement actions. However, SEC and CFTC should have the flexibility to vary the extent of their regulation depending on the size and potential threat posed by the securities and futures firm.	Closed – Implemented	As a result of the 2008 financial crisis, various market developments and regulatory changes have occurred that will provide for the type of comprehensive regulation that our report sought for entities overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. During the crisis, the largest securities firm holding companies either dissolved or merged with or converted to bank holding companies, resulting in Federal Reserve oversight for such firms going forward. In addition, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was enacted in July 2009 tasks the Federal Reserve with overseeing--including conducting examinations, setting reporting requirements, and taking enforcement actions--any systemically important nonbank financial companies and their subsidiaries, which could include any firms previously regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Federal Reserve is to consult with the primary financial regulators and avoid duplication to the fullest extent possible. For any systemically important company, the Federal Reserve is also responsible for establishing enhanced risk-based capital, leverage and liquidity requirements and overall risk management requirements, among other things, for such companies. To tailor these requirements, the Federal Reserve is authorized, in prescribing enhanced prudential standards, to differentiate among companies on an individual basis or by category, taking into account their size, capital structure, riskiness, complexity, financial activities, including those of their subsidiaries and any other risk-related factors the Federal Reserve deems appropriate. The Federal Reserve must also take into account differences between systemically important nonbanks and bank holding companies.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of the Treasury	The Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, SEC, and CFTC, in conjunction with other relevant financial regulators, develop better ways to coordinate the assessment of risks that cross traditional regulatory and industry boundaries.	Closed – Implemented As a result of the 2007/08 financial crisis, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was enacted in July 2009 created an interagency council of the financial regulators that is specifically tasked with considering market developments that could pose systemic risks, including those arising from activities that cross existing regulatory agency boundaries. This group is the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the Council), which is chaired by the Treasury Secretary and includes the head of the other federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The... View More
Commodity Futures Trading Commission	The Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, SEC, and CFTC, in conjunction with other relevant financial regulators, develop better ways to coordinate the assessment of risks that cross traditional regulatory and industry boundaries.	Closed – Implemented As a result of the 2007/08 financial crisis, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was enacted in July 2010 created an interagency council of the financial regulators that is specifically tasked with considering market developments that could pose systemic risks, including those arising from activities that cross existing regulatory agency boundaries. This group is the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the Council), which is chaired by the Treasury Secretary and includes the head of the other federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The... View More
Board of Governors	The Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, SEC, and CFTC, in conjunction with other relevant financial regulators, develop better ways to coordinate the assessment of risks that cross traditional regulatory and industry boundaries.	Closed – Implemented As a result of the 2007/08 financial crisis, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was enacted in July 2009 created an interagency council of the financial regulators that is specifically tasked with considering market developments that could pose systemic risks, including those arising from activities that cross existing regulatory agency boundaries. This group is the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the Council), which is chaired by the Treasury Secretary and includes the head of the other federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The... View More
United States Securities and Exchange Commission	The Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, SEC, and CFTC, in conjunction with other relevant financial regulators, develop better ways to coordinate the assessment of risks that cross traditional regulatory and industry boundaries.	Closed – Implemented As a result of the 2007/08 financial crisis, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was enacted in July 2009 created an interagency council of the financial regulators that is specifically tasked with considering market developments that could pose systemic risks, including those arising from activities that cross existing regulatory agency boundaries. This group is the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the Council), which is chaired by the Treasury Secretary and includes the head of the other federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The... View More

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