Description

This paper draws attention to the causal links between the crises that swept financial markets over the past thirty years, and the underlying common denominators, which can be identified with abuses of debt capital markets. This is done by constructing a taxonomy of crises and scandals, and the role played by debt capital markets in the process. While this analysis draws on some of the events underscoring the GFC of 2008, reference is made to other relevant episodes, culminating most recently with the panic of 2020. Critically, this paper highlights two key aspects, namely the relentless growth of debt capital markets, chiefly through the engine of financial innovation, and their prospering in a lightly regulated environment.