Author Archives: Sylvain Raynes

US Bank Regulation Release 2.1

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: December 20, 2011

Introduction Let’s face it guys, bank regulation in the US is a total mess. Mind you, this is not really surprising, for any system left to its own devices and desires will eventually fly off the handles into the proverbial décor. Like the rest of Wall Street, and mostly unbeknownst to themselves, regulators large and ... Read more

Posted in Consequences, Financial System, Macro Economy, Sylvain Raynes, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Dr. Strangeloan, or How I learned to Love the Bond and Not to Worry

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: August 8, 2011

I would like to tell you about the recent Unites States long-term credit rating downgrade by S&P. Now surely, the Republic will stand regardless of the doom and gloom the S&P minions may see in their crystal ball. Rather than piling in right away with Hegelian negativity on steroids, please allow me to indulge in ... Read more

Posted in CRAs, Credit Spectrum, Sylvain Raynes | 1 Comment

The Fault, Dear Trader, Lies Not In Our Deals, But In Ourselves

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: August 10, 2009

Over the past few weeks of this summer of discontent, the search for sub-prime villains has grown ever more intense and sordid. Media-bound auto da fe has been set up to burn the most obviously flawed Wall Street personalities at the stake of incompetence, allegedly in order to renew the faith of the gullible populace ... Read more

Posted in CRAs, Credit Crisis, Structured Finance/Securitization, Sylvain Raynes | Leave a comment

The Hollow Men of the AIG Debacle

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: March 21, 2009

At this very moment, throughout this great land of ours, ordinary people dwelling far away from the chaotic nonsense known as Wall Street are probably wondering how so much money could be wasted by so few people — people who, in fact, live in another country. And when the very same people appear to be ... Read more

Posted in Bailout | 1 Comment

The Step-by-Step Resolution of the Sub-Prime Crisis

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: January 23, 2009

Step 1: For God’s sake, relax! Everyone is so uptight right now that we can’t even think. We will only get out of this mess by thinking, not by reacting prematurely with adolescent measures and childish pronouncements. Step 2: Suspend all further Treasury loans to Wall Street until the situation can be clarified by valuing ... Read more

Posted in Bailout, Credit Crisis, Sylvain Raynes | 6 Comments

The Answer is the Question, the Question of the Deal

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: December 5, 2008

My recent post on the sorry state of financial engineering seems to have touched a raw nerve in the FE community.I will not attempt to respond to anonymous comments since the US Constitution gives every citizen the right to look his accusers in the eye. People who wish to remain in the dark usually have ... Read more

Posted in Financial Education, Reform, Sylvain Raynes | 3 Comments

The State of Financial Engineering

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: December 2, 2008

We are the CDO makers,and we are the dreamers of dreams.Betting on lone loss triggers,and trading in eclectic teams. Spread losers and yield forsakers,for whom the pale bonus gleams.Yet we are the sole underwriters,of the deals, forever it seems! Fantasia on a Theme by William Blake All over the world, it has become fashionable for ... Read more

Posted in Financial Education, Reform, Sylvain Raynes | 11 Comments

It Tolls for Thee

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: November 10, 2008

It’s probably fair to say that, at this very moment, many of you are looking for an easy resolution, something that would enable you to move on, to accept the unacceptable. You are wondering how the devil we got here, how we could possibly “lose” so much so quickly. The obvious answer to this rhetorical ... Read more

Posted in Consequences, Credit Crisis, Sylvain Raynes | 1 Comment

The Moody’s Blues

By Sylvain Raynes | Published: March 10, 2008

The last entry in this journal was rather pessimistic. In it, we recounted what was likely to happen from the Fed’s irresponsible attitude towards cutting interest rates without a workable plan in mind about what to do next. Our verdict was that nothing good was to come out of it. However, that still left open ... Read more

Posted in CRAs, Noir, Sylvain Raynes | Leave a comment

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