Anyone seeking a fresh and compelling assessment of global financial stability should consider the forthcoming book Better Bankers, Better Banks, due out later this month. The simple central thesis is that banks fail because bankers fail and the logically inexorable prescription is covenant banking, meaning getting banker’s to assume personal liability for bank failures. U. Minnesota business law professors Claire Hill and Richard Painter offer a work of elegant simplicity, as reflected in the book’s Table of Contents:
Part I: The Problem
1 Irresponsible Banking
2 How Banking Became What It Is Today
3 Explaining Banker Behavior
Part II: Solutions
4 Law and Its Limits
5 Covenant Banking
6 Responsible Banking
The sub-title suggests an intriguing twist on the normative thrust: “Promoting Good Business Through Contractual Commitment.” I discussed the book and its themes with the authors on several occasions and read some draft chapters. I am now eager to devour the final. My guess is the read will benefit not only policymakers and scholars but bankers as well. Kudos to Claire and Richard.
