A History of British Actuarial Thought

by Craig Turnbull Palgrave Macmillan 2016 The reputation of actuaries in the UK has declined precipitously in the last three decades. Once they were among the most powerful decision makers in Britain’s financial sector, albeit semi-invisible. Today their role has been sharply curtailed by regulation and market trends, while their profession struggles to articulate its…

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Deutsche Bank and the Big Short

The movie ‘The Big Short’ reminds us how the toxicity of Deutsche Bank’s historic activity and culture continue to infect the bank and broader financial system today. Deutsche is the most leveraged big bank in the world, with assets 37 times core equity tier one capital. Half of these assets – $762 billion – are over-the-counter derivatives, the legacy of its growth before the crisis.

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Unravelling LOBOs

A few weeks ago, I was with Channel 4 Dispatches reporter Antony Barnett speaking to Sheffield Labour MP Clive Betts. We were on a park bench in some gardens next to the Houses of Parliament and we briefed Betts about our findings on Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loans to UK councils – findings that were seen by a Channel 4 audience of over 1 million last Monday.

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Lost Lobos

For as long as most people can remember, UK municipal finance has been safe and boring. In the wild days of the 1980s, Hammersmith & Fulham council almost went bust speculating in derivatives, and was saved by a landmark House of Lords ruling. Since then, UK council borrowing has been tightly constrained by central government while derivative use has been banned.

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