Keep it simple: Policy Responses to the Financial Crisis

With the aim of restoring a strong global framework for economic governance, this study proposes new rules of the game – imposed through the Group of 20 and the IMF – for the macroeconomic and exchange rate policies of the main players, including the United States. It also advocates stricter prudential rules for banks, centred around the introduction of a simple leverage ratio calculated with reference to total assets, with no exemptions or risk mitigation. The authors warn against the risk of a massive wave of new regulation, which is not needed and might cripple capital markets for years, and call instead for a simplification and a better enforcement of rules. Carmine Di Noia is Deputy Director General of Assonime and member of the European Securities Markets Expert Group (ESME) at the European Commission. Stefano Micossi is Director General of Assonime, Professor at the College of Europe and a member of CEPS Board of Directors. Jacopo Carmassi is a researcher at Assonime and Fellow of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center. Fabrizia Peirce is an economist in Assonime’s economic unit.