How bad bank regulation generates illusory profits

Speaker: Gordon Kerr (author of The Law of Opposites), Dr Andy Sloan (States Economist to the States of Guernsey)

Date: Tuesday 13 December 2011

Time: 04:00pm - 05:30pm

RSVP: events@adamsmith.org

Location: Committee Room 8, House of Commons

Map: find us!

The Cobden Centre's Gordon Kerr is a banking insider and author of The Law of Opposites, which will be published on 13 December by the Adam Smith Institute.

At this event will present an insider's explanation of how banking has degenerated to its present nadir of managerial capitalism. He will cover:

• Examples of how derivative reporting rules allow both sides of hedging transactions falsely to report up front, substantial profits;
• How flawed IFRS rules allow RBS and other big banks to operate loss making business models that have already consumed all the bailout funds for no societal benefit;
• How Basel rules, although deeply flawed, cannot actually function given the present false accounting system;
• The way to start to fix the system: end the flaws endemic in our culture of rule-making.

Dr Andy Sloan will explain how the Guernsey banking model avoids many of the pitfalls of the UK system.

Please note that as this event is being held in the House of Commons, you will have to arrive early to get through security.