Meyer, Philip C. (Author)

First part of book describes author's experiences as head of FDIC in 1980's and his ad hoc policy in reacting to bank failures. Sometimes he let banks fail, sometimes arranged shotgun marriages, sometimes propped them up. But used his best judgement.

Then, according to Isaac, mark-to-market accounting, SEC downtick rule, naked shorting, Fannie and Freddie and their accomplices in the Clinton administration and Congress caused the next crisis.

But this time there weren't enlightened regulators to respond. And according to Isaac, Paulson, Geithner et al., panicked,

How this is a realistic policy, find enlightened regulators, is beyond me. Also, why is mark-to-market and price discovery bad. How regulators use that info can be bad, but the info, it seems, is the information. An interesting read, and short, but only partly illuminating about the financial crisis and ways to prevent others like them.