CenturyLink to Buy Level 3 for $34B

Re:CenturyLink to Buy Level 3 for $34B by pjmorris on Monday October 31, 2016 @08:30AM (#12836106)

If only it were that simple. Turns out that, rather than being constrained by the deposits/assets they have on hand (FRB doctrine), banks will create the loans they believe they can make, then go settle up with the central bank/regulators. See, for example, (unorthodox) economist Steve Keen [0][1] on this.

[0] http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevekeen/2015/02/28/what-is-mon...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Keen

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Re:CenturyLink to Buy Level 3 for $34B by lsd5you on Monday October 31, 2016 @09:10AM (#12836353)

Yeah, that was my greatest take away from what I've read from him. Talk about the tail wagging the dog.

The restrictions in this light almost do more harm than good since it exonerates the banks (or rather the system) and every time we have a crisis (after people have been making the big bucks for years) we treat it as mysterious and unrelated to the profits made in the 'good' times.

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Re:CenturyLink to Buy Level 3 for $34B by maxerickson on Monday October 31, 2016 @11:07AM (#12837400)

One of the primary responses to the 2008 crisis has been to change the regulations around capital requirements for banks and other financial institutions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_III

Note that even though the introduction calls it a voluntary framework, the US and EU have implemented much of it in their regulatory systems.

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