Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

A Regulatory Design for Monetary Stability

In the paper, A Regulatory Design for Monetary Stability, which was recently made publicly available on SSRN, I seek to make the case that our financial regulatory apparatus is ill-designed to address what is, arguably, the central problem for financial regulatory policy. That problem is the instability of the market for money-claims—a generic term that […]

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Del Monte Settlement Highlights Risk of Conflicts in Buyout Financing

Recently, there was the announcement of a proposed $89.4 million settlement of shareholder claims arising out of the buyout of Del Monte Foods Company. The shareholders had alleged that the sales process was tainted by collusion between the buyers and Del Monte’s banker, which had sought to provide financing to the buyout group. The settlement […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Court Cases, Mergers & Acquisitions, Practitioner Publications, Securities Litigation & Enforcement | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Assessing Pay for Performance

Although pay for performance is a nearly universal objective of executive compensation programs, there is little agreement on how to measure it and monitor it. Companies often seem to believe that it is obvious that pay varies with performance, while many investors feel that there is little evidence of a strong correlation between the two. […]

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Principal Changes to the UK Takeover Code

Recently, a new version of the Takeover Code came into force. With few exceptions, it governs all offers and possible offers made from this date. The amendments are the result of the year-long consultation process initiated by the Takeover Panel after widespread criticism and concern following Kraft Food Inc.’s hostile takeover of Cadbury plc. The […]

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Did Securitization Cause the Mortgage Crisis?

Did mortgage securitization cause the mortgage crisis? One popular story goes like this: Banks that originated mortgage loans and then sold them to securitizers didn’t care whether the loans would be repaid. After all, since they sold the loans, they weren’t on the hook for the defaults. Without any “skin in the game” those banks […]

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What Constitutes a Sale of Substantially All Assets?

The Delaware Supreme Court has affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision not to aggregate a series of dispositions in determining whether they constitute a transfer of “substantially all” of a company’s assets under a bond indenture. See Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. v. Liberty Media Corp., No. 284, 2011 (Del. Sept. 21, 2011) […]

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October 2011 Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Progress Report

This posting, the October Davis Polk Dodd-Frank Progress Report, is the seventh in a series of Davis Polk presentations that illustrate graphically the progress of the rulemaking work that has been done and is yet to occur under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Progress Report has been prepared using data from the Davis Polk Regulatory Tracker™, […]

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Posted in Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Good Faith — Not Just an Aspiration

In a recent Kirkland M&A Update, we reviewed a Georgia appellate decision upholding a $281 million jury award to a spurned suitor, showing that even careful drafting of “non binding” language in a letter of intent may not be effective in avoiding unanticipated binding obligations if the parties’ conduct is inconsistent with those provisions. We […]

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Pay for Regulator Performance

Few doubt that executive compensation arrangements encouraged the excessive risk taking by banks that led to the recent Financial Crisis. Accordingly, academics and lawmakers have called for the reform of banker pay practices. In our paper, Pay for Regulator Performance, forthcoming in the Southern California Law Review, we argue that regulator pay is to blame […]

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The Proposed Restructuring of the UK Financial Regulatory Framework

The UK Government has published a white paper and draft bill setting out further details of its proposals for a new structure of financial regulation. The FSA, currently the sole regulator of the financial sector, will be replaced with two bodies: (i) a prudential regulator, to be known as the Prudential Regulation Authority and (ii) […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Financial Crisis, Financial Regulation, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Proposed Restructuring of the UK Financial Regulatory Framework