What is the proper policy framework for promoting financial inclusion in a free society? New financial tools are bringing more people into the modern financial world—changing how households save, borrow, pay for everyday needs, and invest in their futures. They're also creating new opportunities for unbanked and…
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of delivering some remarks to the New York League of Independent Bankers. I spoke about how and why financial regulation often has consequences that are very different from the ones that policymakers intend. What follows are my written remarks—I hope…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been controversial since its creation. As an executive agency enjoying Federal Reserve funding independent of the Congressional appropriations process—and run by a single director removable only for cause—the Bureau is unusual and possibly unconstitutional. In its first years of existence, the…
Two recent announcements by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have proponents of increased financial regulation up in arms. The first is the Bureau's expansion of its no-action letter policy to include a regulatory sandbox. A sandbox is a program which allows firms to offer new products under…
In January I had the pleasure of participating on a panel on "The New Financial System: Decentralized?" at the Blockchain Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Video of the panel is here.) The panel was preceded by a talk by Prof. Nouriel Roubini of the NYU Stern School…