Member Views

Beyond the Numbers: Why the World Needs a More Ambitious MDB Response to COVID-19

A recent CGD paper and the World Bank’s response  focused on precisely how much financial support the Bank is likely to provide this year to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and whether this would match with targets the institution set for itself at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beyond the Brink - Live with Dee Smith & Raoul Pal

What does life look like on the other side of COVID-19? This is a question that just about everybody on the planet is asking themselves at this point in time.

Beware the Government Debt-to-GDP Ratio

Government debt levels around the world are rising fast as governments run up large budget deficits because of the pandemic-induced recession. In judging the level of government debt, and how much of a potential problem it might be storing up for the future, a universally cited metric is the nominal government debt-to-GDP ratio, the amount of government debt expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product. 

Quoting government debt levels as a percentage of GDP is misleading. 

Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance

BWC member Afsaneh Beschloss, founder and CEO of RockCreek was named to Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance list for the second year in a row. The list honors leaders in the financial services industry who have made outsized contributions to strengthening the US financial system.

Bailouts Create a Moral Hazard Even if They're Justified. Is There Another Way?

BWC member Hung Tran argues "a much better approach would have been to protect large depositors up to the value of the closed banks’ high-quality bond portfolios, which are eligible as collateral to borrow from the newly launched Bank Term Funding Program."

Avoiding the pain of China’s housing crisis risks infecting the wider economy

o The growing housing crisis threatens to spread like previous financial contagions and damage economies across the globe
o Policymakers need to let poor performers suffer the consequences of bad bets while looking after solvent banks and enacting land and property reforms

Asia’s emerging markets hold the keys to sustainable investment

Japan’s newly re-elected prime minister, Shinzo Abe did not mince words in a recent article that led the Financial Times opinion page: Environmental risks are exacerbating. More robust action is needed. “And swiftly.”

Asian Emerging Markets in the era of Infinity War

It was just a year ago that Argentina issued a 100-year bond which offered a dollar coupon of less than eight percent for which, there was three times as much demand as supply. Shortly afterwards, major investment banks issued their outlook for 2018.

AS/COA Statement on COVID-19 Vaccine Collaboration in the Americas

It is in the United States’ national interest to provide vaccines to Western Hemisphere countries, particularly Mexico, say AS/COA's chairman, chairmen emeriti, and president and CEO. 

Argentina and the IMF: Another Default in the Works?

The seeds for the latest chapter in Argentina’s long history of confrontations with the International Monetary Fund were planted about a year ago, on the eve of the global pandemic.