The Financial Services Industry: A New World (Dis)Order? - Foreword

Abstract

Introducing a symposium, this paper summarizes and comments on articles by Edward L. Rubin, Cynthia C. Lichtenstein, Sarah Jane Hughes, and Michael E. Schrader. Each article identifies and deftly explores a pressing issue within the banking and finance industry. The symposium as a whole carries a more subtle message: it recognizes two strands of tension with which regulators are, consciously or unconsciously, grappling. The first is the strain created by the desire for domestic institutions to become internationally competitive without forsaking domestic safety and soundness; the second is the often-encountered conflict between normative social goals and the perceived costs of adhering to a market philosophy.

There is more to be said and done. As financial markets become increasingly global and as financial power becomes increasingly concentrated, these complex relationships will intensify. Subjecting the work of financial regulators to the kind of rigorous analysis and criticism contained in this symposium is a vital component of efforts to restore order to the United States banking and finance industry and thus plays a necessary role in establishing a more just and productive relationship between law and finance.

Keywords: financial services, banking, finance