Financial innovations, crises and regulation: some assessments

After much of the financial market was immersed in a severe credit crunch caused by U.S. subprime mortgages, a theme that is most opportune for proper discussion is the absence of the role of banking system regulation. Technological enhancements, financial innovations and deregulation have over the last two decades exerted intense pressure on the financial system, with the result that banks now bear no resemblance to banks of the past, and actually seem to have very little in common with banks of a decade ago. These changes occurred not only in regard to actors and the speed of change, but mainly in the banking business profile and have generated a number of different approaches which highlight various causes, such as the characterization of market structure with a degree of banking concentration, or the effective participation of regulatory provisions with a view to correcting inherent systemic weaknesses and their effects. This article aims to examine the role played by these phenomena in the banking industry to help the understanding of the different attempts at regulation.JEL codes: G21, G28, G32