Dear ATCA Colleagues

[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]
We are grateful to:

73+ Rudi Bogni, Chairman, Medinvest, and Director, Old Mutual, based in London, UK, and Basel, Switzerland, for, "Transparency always Pays in the Long Run;" and
72+* Mark Cliffe, Chief Economist, ING Group, based in London, UK, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, for "The Credit Crunch Blame Game -- Inevitable, Necessary... but Dangerous."

Dear DK and Colleagues

Re: Transparency always Pays in the Long Run

At the risk of being labelled as an old-fashion simpleton, it seems to me that the mission of banks is to intermediate credit, facilitate money movements, accept deposits in a safe environment and contribute to the successful allocation of capital.

Specialisation should be possible and desirable, but only in a climate of transparency.

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Transparency always pays in the long run.

Rudi Bogni

Rudi Bogni is the Chairman of Medinvest and lives between Basel and London. He is the former CEO, Private Banking and Member of the Group Executive Board of UBS AG, the largest bank in Switzerland. At present, he is a non-executive director of Old Mutual plc; trustee of the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation; Accomandataire of Bertarelli & Cie; Director of America Cup Management and Kedge Capital; Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Oxford Analytica; Director of the International Council for Capital Formation and of Prospect Publishing; Member of the Governing Council of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation; and of the Development Council of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
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Dear DK and Colleagues

Re: The Credit Crunch Blame Game -- Inevitable, Necessary...but Dangerous

Summary

The 'blame game' for the current financial crisis is both inevitable and necessary; but as the central banks are finding out, the finger pointing risks prolonging the crisis by undermining trust and depressing confidence.

The list of culprits is long. From its origins in the US subprime mortgage market, the crisis has spread through the global financial system, with blame being levelled not just at mortgage lenders, but banks, investment banks, hedge funds, institutional investors, borrowers, credit ratings agencies, regulators and central banks.

[CONTINUES] [ATCA Membership]

Best regards

Mark Cliffe

Mark Cliffe is Chief Economist, ING Group, and Head of ING Financial Markets Research, based in London, UK, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. He is responsible for a global research team in 16 offices around the world, servicing institutional and corporate customers with research on fixed income, equities and FX, money market and derivative products. Mark travels extensively giving presentations to corporate and institutional ING customers worldwide. Over the past 25 years he has become well-known in the international media. Prior to his career at ING he worked as Chief International Economist for HSBC Markets, Nomura Research Institute and ANZ Merchant Bank.

[ENDS]

50* The ATCA Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Credit Card Debt Default - The Domino Crisis post Sub-Prime Overflow;"
49* Dr George Feiger, President & CEO, Contango Capital Advisors, based in Berkeley, California, USA for "Responsibility for Credit, Securitisation and Moral Hazard."
48. Anthony Whitehouse, Founder, Bittiner Whitehouse (now Maitland), Geneva, Switzerland, for "Blame and Sanctions in the Credit Crunch;"
47. Prof Prabhu Guptara, Executive Director, Organisational Development, Wolfsberg (UBS), Switzerland, for "Unique Problems with 1990s Japan;"
46. The ATCA Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, and Dr Harald Malmgren, CEO, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC, USA, for "Central Bankers, Monetary Policy and Moral Hazard;"
45* William Sturge, Partner, Reinsurance, Lawrence Graham (LG) based in Central London, UK, for "Litigation Exposure and Insurances that may Respond;"
44. Peter Tasker, Founding Partner, Arcus Investment, based in Tokyo, Japan, for "Invaluable Lessons from 1990s Japan - Risks of Schadenfreude;"
43. Andrew Leung, CEO, AL International, London, UK, and frequent visitor to China for "The China Dimension of The Global Credit Crunch;"
42* The ATCA Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, and Dr Harald Malmgren based in Washington, DC, USA for "Off-Balance Sheet Conduits & SIVs Raise Wider Concerns;"
41* Prof Charles Calomiris, Columbia Business School, New York & Prof Joseph Mason, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA for "The Conflict of Rating Agencies and Regulation - We need a Better Way to Judge Risk;"

40. Dr George Feiger, President & CEO, Contango Capital Advisors, based in Berkeley, California, USA for, "Questioning the Views of a Nobel Laureate;"
39. Prof Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2001), Columbia University, New York, USA , for "Day of Reckoning for Americans who lived Beyond their Means;"
38. Dr George Feiger, President & CEO, Contango Capital Advisors, based in Berkeley, California, USA for "Suggestions for Resolving Sub-Prime Dilemma Step by Step;"
37* Dr Harald Malmgren, CEO, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC, USA for "Understanding Rating Agencies beyond the Sub-Prime Meltdown;"
36* The ATCA Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Asymmetric Knowledge Risk and Market Deadlock;"
35* Anthony Whitehouse, Founder, Bittiner Whitehouse (now Maitland), Geneva, Switzerland, for "High Credit Ratings and Breakdown of Trust;"
34* John Pickering, Vice-Chairman, Labour Finance and Industry Group, based in London and Tunbridge Wells, UK, for "Role of Auditors;"
33* The ATCA Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "ATCA QUERY: Role of Credit Rating Agencies;"
32. Peter Tasker, Founding Partner, Arcus Investment, based in Tokyo, Japan, for "Resilience of Corporate Profits & Sub-Prime Fiasco -- Global View from Japan;"
31. Daniel Morler, Head of Middle East, LGT Private Bank, based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, for "Human Factor, Information Lag, Geo-Politics and Central Banks;"

30. Justin Urquhart Stewart, Director, Seven Investment Management, London, UK, for "Pride Before the Fall -- Those Who Don't Know that they Don't Know;"
29. Martin Wolf, Associate Editor & Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times, London, UK, for "To Cut or Not to Cut: Federal Reserve must Prolong the Party;"
28. The Hon Al McDonald, Chairman and CEO, Avenir Group, from Michigan, USA, for "Balancing The Role of Management in Extreme Financial Turbulence."
27. The ATCA Editorial Team based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Subprime Crisis Spreads Across Regions and Financial Sectors;"
26* Hervé de Carmoy, European Vice-Chairman, Trilateral Commission, based in Paris, France, for "Role of Large Financial Institutions in Fuelling Crisis;"
25* Dr Jim Walker, Chief Economist, CLSA, based in Hong Kong for "China Chaos and Subprime Butterfly;"
24. Ashutosh Sheshabalaya, CEO, India-Advisory, based in Brussels, EU, and Bassilly, Belgium, for "India turns History Upside Down;"
23. John Elkington, Chief Entrepreneur, SustainAbility, based in London, UK, and returning from India, for "Mother Convulsion - India's Third Liberation;"
22. Stephen Lendman, based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, for "Slow Motion Train Wreck" via Ashok Khosla, Chairman, Development Alternatives, New Delhi, India;
21. The ATCA Editorial Team based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Market Convulsions;"

20. Dr Harald Malmgren, CEO, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC, USA for "Federal Reserve's Changed Focus;"
19. Bill Emmott, Director, UK-Japan 21st Century Group, based in London and Somerset, UK, for "Japan's Strong Yen;"
18* Dr Harald Malmgren, CEO, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC, USA for "The Asymmetric Loss of Trust and Chain Reaction;"
17. The ATCA Editorial Team, based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Public Inquisition of Credit Rating Agencies may Accelerate Downturn;"
16. Dr George Feiger, President and CEO, Contango Capital Advisors, based in Berkeley, California, USA, for "Watch out for Dramatic Winners;"
15* The ATCA Editorial Team, based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Systemic Risk & Sectoral Meltdown: Heightened Correlation and Deleveraging;"
14. Rudi Bogni, Chairman, Medinvest, and Director, Old Mutual, from Basel, Switzerland, for, "Non-Stop Central Banks' Intervention;"
13. Dr Ravi Batra, Professor of Economics, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA, for, "Towards a Global Economic Crisis?;"
12. Aurora Carlson, Founder, Open One Center, based on the West Coast, Sweden, for "The Coming Storm of Change;"
11. The ATCA Editorial Team, based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Large Quake hits Quants as Computer-Driven Quantitative Hedge Funds Short-Circuit;"

10* Dr Harald Malmgren, CEO, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC, USA for "Prolonged Credit Market Correction Ahead;"
9. Prof Dr Norbert Walter, Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank Group, based in Frankfurt, Germany, for "Economic Consequences of The Sub-Prime Crisis;"
8. Anthony Whitehouse, Founder, Bittiner Whitehouse (now Maitland), Geneva, Switzerland, for "Regulators, Hedge Fund Lending and Cross-Selling;"
7. The ATCA Editorial Team, based in Canary Wharf, London, UK, for "Perfect Storm: Credit Freeze and Distress Selling by Hedge Funds;"
6. Dr George Feiger, based in Berkeley, California, USA, for "Two Faces of the Same Coin;"
5* The ATCA Editorial Team, based in Canary Wharf, London, for "Contagion and Systemic Risk? ECB Injects Record Euro 95bn post Major Disturbance;"
4. The ATCA Editorial Team, for "Flight to Quality as Markets finally Appreciate Risk;"
3. Robert McNally, Chairman, London Chamber of Commerce Property and Construction Group, for "Erosion of Commercial Real Estate as a Solid Asset Class;"
2. Alexander Hoare, CEO, C Hoare and Co, Private Bankers, based in the City of London, for "Destructive Creativity, Leverage and The Derivatives Market;" and
1. Dr Harald Malmgren, CEO, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC, for "The Fear of Central Bankers -- Flight from Illiquidity, Derivatives and Heightened Risk of Contagion;"

in response to, "Are the Currency Markets Warning that there is Trouble Ahead? The Precipitous Decline of the US Dollar and its Impact on the World."

+ Denotes ATCA QUERY: The Question of Trust +

* Denotes ATCA QUERY: Role of Credit Rating Agencies *