Financial Derivatives

     While Obama and Romney are both on 60 Minutes reminding us why most people hate elections, I'll be talking about how to actually fix things in this country. My next platform point is about regulating financial derivatives, something that has yet to happen.
     You might remember the crisis of 2008 was in part caused by the mortgage industry. This was made worse by derivative instruments like CDO's and MBS' that magnified the defaulted loans. The worst part is that derivatives are not regulated and usually are even hidden from the stock holders of the banks that issue them. Most Americans probably don't realize just how large the financial derivative market is. Its estimated to be well over $1 Quadrillion. The amount of derivatives held by US banks is estimated to be over 15 times the GDP of the United States.
     I would force the bank to list on each of their quarterly 10Q reports their derivatives exposure and to whom they are exposed to. Credit default swaps would be limited to prevent multiple winners in a loan default situation. We would also have the banks put in a "force majeure" clause in the contracts. That way if all hell breaks loose, we can stop all the dominoes from falling. Below are some videos that go into the subject more and I would also advise you to do your own research on this complicated topic.

Platt Robertson
Write-in Presidential candidate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIruCBopmfo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXD3QD-CE9E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjlw7ZpZVK4&feature=related